Full time: Real Madrid 2-3 Barcelona The referee blows his final whistle, Barca go level with Real Madrid on top to ignite the title race! 90+2' Messi scores the decisive goal with the last kick of the game to give Barcelon an invaluable win. He ends a flowing counter attack with a powerful shot that beats Navas at the near post. 90+2' GOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAL FOR BARCELONA!!! 90' The referee adds two minutes of stoppage time. 89' Ter Stegen palms away a shot from the lively Asensio. Will Real Madrid snatch all three points in the dying minutes? 87' Real are very dangerous on the break that they look capable of snatching a win. 86' Rodriguez escapes the attention of Busquets to fire a cross from Marcelo in the roof of the net, drawing 10-man Real Madrid level. 86' GOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAL FOR REAL!!!! 84' A tame shot by Real's James Rodriguez is collected by Ter Stegen. 83' Navas blocks another shot from Messi as Barca pile on pressure. 81' Kovacic is booked for a foul on Lionel Messi. 80' Pique squanders a golden chance to put the result beyond doubt! He is found by a low cross from Gomes with the goal at his mercy, but he shoots straight at Navas. 79' It's very difficult for Real now with 10 men on the field. 77' Real defender Ramos is red-carded!! A surprise dismissal for a heavy challenge on Messi. It's harsh though! 75' Real have 15 minutes to least grab an equaliser. A win for Barcelona will ignite the title race. 73' Rakitic gathers a loose ball, tricks Kroos and curls a delightful left-foot shot past Navas from the edge of the area. 73' GOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAL FOR BARCELONA!! 72' Ter Stegen makes another brilliant save! He smothers a shot from Asensio at the near post after another Real breakaway. 70' Barca also make a substitution. Alcacer is replaced with Andre Gomes. 69' Real make their second substitution. Casemiro is replaced with Kovacic. 68' A golden chance for Barca! Suarez's volley is thwarted by Navas at the near post. 67' What a chance for Real! Ronaldo blasts over the bar with the goal at his mercy after a neatly-worked move. 66' Ronaldo's attempted bicycle kick goes horribly wrong! But Real are livelier now, thanks to the work of Marcelo and Kroos on the left. 64' Marcelo keeps sending pinpoint crosses, but they go begging. 62' It's now an evenly-balanced affair, with both sides trading attacks. 59' Navas pulls off another fine save to thwart a bullet header from Pique after a corner. 58' Suarez fails to control a pass from Messi that would have sent him clean through. 56' A golden chance for Barca at the other end! Alcacer's low shot from a Rakitic pass is thwarted by Navas. 53' A chance for Real!! Benzema misses a sitter, with his header from a Marcelo cross blocked by the impressive Ter Stegen, one of the best performers of the night. 52' Real have the upper hand in the early stages of the second half, pressing Barca high up the pitch. 48' A chance for Real! A left-footed first-timer from Kroos on the edge of the area forces a superb one-handed save from Ter Stegen. 47' Barca defender Pique makes a timely and superb interception to clear a Carvajal low cross just before it reaches the unmarked Benzema. The second half is underway The referee blows his halftime whistle 45+1' Messi is tripped by Casemiro. Messi argues that the midfielder should be sent off for a second bookable offence. 43' Suarez tries to find Jordi Alba on the far post with a cross but Real's defence clears the danger. 41' It's a one-man show for Barca! Only Messi is troubling Real's rearguard. 41' Messi goes close with a shot on the follow up but it misses the target. 39' Real make an unscripted substitution. Marco Asensio replaces the injured Bale. 39' Barcelona defender Umtiti receives a yellow card for a foul on Ronaldo. 38' Real winger Bale picks up an injury and will be replaced. 36' A powerful shot by Modric is palmed away by Ter Stegen. 33' Messi scores a trademark brilliant goal! Rakitic plays the ball across the box and the onrushing Argentinean collects the ball, holds off Modric and rounds Carvajal before placing a low shot into the bottom corner. 33' GOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAL FOR BARCELONA!! 32' Real Madrid take a deserved lead after spurning some goal-scoring chances. Will Barcelona be able to react? 28' Casemiro opens the scoring! Marcelo floats in a cross at the far post where Ramos volleys against the near post, with Casemiro tapping in the rebound into an empty net. 28' GOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAL FOR REAL!!! 26' Real rob the Barca defence and Ronaldo feeds Benzema, who dithers on the ball to allow Pique to steal possession. 24' Ronaldo blasts a shot high over from the edge of the area. Real are much better so far! 22' The third chance for Real! A long ball finds the unmarked Bale whoste attempted volley goes straight into the hands of Ter Stegen. 21' Messi sustains a facial injury after Marcelo inadvertently elbows him. 20' Another chance for Real! This time it's Ronaldo who cuts inside Pique from the left and hits a shot that is blocked by Ter Stegen. 18' Benzema wastes a chance for Real! He latches onto a trademark defence-splitting pass from Modric but his weak low shot is collected by Ter Stegen. 17' Messi makes a brilliant marauding run but his eventual pass to Rakitic is intercepted by the Real defence in the area. 15' Barca are trying to gain more possession. 12' Real midfielder Casemiro is booked for hauling down Messi, who superbly skips past him. 11' Suarez goes close for Barca!! After a flowing move, he sends a low shot that goes just wide from the edge of the area. 9' Ronaldo tries a one-two with Benzema but Umtiti intercepts the ball. Barca's defence is having a difficult night. 6' Ronaldo is wreaking havoc upfront! He runs onto a deft pass from Benzema on the right, cuts inside Pique and Umtiti but his shot is saved by Ter Stegen. 4' A cross by Carvajal is cleared by the Barca defence. Real mount early pressure. 2' Real's Cristiano Ronaldo has a penalty appeal turned down! He falls under an apparent challenge from Samuel Umtiti. The match is underway Lineups:
Real Madrid: Keylor Navas - Dani Carvajal, Sergio Ramos, Nacho, Marcelo - Casemiro, Luka Modric, Toni Kroos - Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema.
Barcelona: Ter Stegen, Gerard Pique, Umtiti, Jordi Alba, Sergio Roberto - Sergio Busquets, Ivan Rakitic, Andre Iniesta - Lionel Messi, Alcacer, Luis Suarez.
20:40 Both sides step onto the pitch. 20:00 Both sides are warming up, 45 minutes before kick-off. The excitement is building! 19:30 Madrid will be looking to a rejuvenated Cristiano Ronaldo, who has scored five in his last two appearances and netted his 100th Champion League goal with a hat-trick against Bayern Munich on Wednesday. 19:20 "We have the chance to get back in the fight for La Liga in a six-pointer against the side top of the league. I love being involved at a club as ambitious as this," he added. 19:15 "It will be difficult to lift my players up after this, but it will be easy to motivate them. We have the best stimulus that any Barcelona fan could ask for which is that we play against our eternal rival. There's no better place to go than the Bernabeu," he said. 18:30 The Catalans' task is made all the more difficult given forward Neymar's suspension. But Barca coach Luis Enrique insisted after their 3-0 aggregate defeat by Juventus that his side would be ready to bounce straight back up 17:30 Real are unbeaten since February, winning 10 of their last 12 games. In contrast, Barcelona have won just two of their previous five in all competitions and were dumped out of Europe in midweek. 16:00 Centre-backs Raphael Varane and Pepe are Madrid's only injury absentees meaning Zidane is expected to name the same starting XI as against Bayern. "There is a lot of tiredness, but also a lot of excitement and desire to keep doing what we are doing," added the Frenchman. 15:00 Luis Enrique says his last Clasico in charge of Barcelona at Real Madrid on Sunday is a must-win for the reigning La Liga champions. "This time a Clasico can decide or almost decide the league or leave it very open. "For us it is like a final, only a win will do." 14:00 Madrid will be boosted by the return of Gareth Bale from injury, but the fact the Welshman may not be risked is a further sign that Real have far more room for error. Bale has been sidelined by an inflammation of the muscles around where he suffered ligament damage in his right ankle that kept him out for three months earlier in the season. 13:00 Barcelona will not risk calling up star forward Neymar for the potential title decider with Real Madrid, the Spanish champions said on Sunday, just hours before El Clasico. Venue: Estadio Santiago Bernabéu (Madrid) Referee: Alejandro Jose Hernandez Hernandez (Spain) League positions: Real Madrid: (1st with 75 points after 32 matches) Barcelona: (2nd with 72 points after 32 matches) (For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports)
