Barcelona got their revenge against Real Madrid by winning their 'El Clasico' 2-1 at the Nou Camp on Sunday night.
Goals in each half by Jeremy Mathieu and Luis Suarez helped the Blaugrana increase their lead at the top of the La Liga standings by four points as they moved to 68 from 28 played while Real who have been having a lean spell since New Year are on 64 from 28 matches.
Ronaldo kept Real in the match with an equaliser but it was Barca all the way in the second half in a match which saw almost a dozen yellow cards.
Real won the tie 3-1 when these two sides last met in October, 2014.
Full-time
Barcelona 2 (Mathieu 19" Suarez 55") Real 1 (Ronaldo 31")
93" Barca hold onto the ball as the crowd gets more noisy.
90" Three minutes added.
86" Casillas makes another great save to deny Messi this time.
85" Messi through ball and Alba is on the verge of increasing Barca's lead but for Casillas who steps out in time to make a block.
84" Neymar is replaced by Rafinha.
82" Barca get another opportunity and Suarez misses after shimmying past a couple of defenders only to shoot across the goal.
77" Xavi replaces Iniesta. The crowd gives both players a thunderous applause. This is likely to be Xavi's final El Clasico. Real also make a sub as Jese comes on in place of Isco.
77" Good save from Bravo sticking his left hand out after Benzema's shot deflected off a defender and was heading into goal.
76" Barca look like the side of old. Messi and Neymar mesmerise and Real are wondering what hit them. Luckily no goal.
75" Rakitic makes way for Busquets.
74" Neymar misses another good chance, missing his second in less than ten minutes.
73" Messi curling left-footer beats a diving Casillas but misses the target.
72" Varane replaces Pepe.
70" YELLOW! Alves booked.
66" Neymar makes one of his trademark runs through the defence and lets fly a shot from top of the box but alas it's wide.
62" YELLOW! The match is getting ugly with Isco and Iniesta booked. Ten bookings so far.
59" YELLOW! Mascherano is booked.
Barcelona 2 (Mathieu 19" Suarez 55") Real 1 (Ronaldo 31")
55" GOAL! Dani Alves finds Suarez with a long ball. The Uruguayan, who did nothing much all this while, shows silken touch with a neat trap and shoots past Casillas.
53" Xavi and Busquets are seen warming up on the sidelines.
50" YELLOW! Modric booked for sticking his leg out to stop Messi from a superb run.
48" Benzema denied from close by Bravo.
47" YELLOW! Carvajal booked for a tackle just outside the box on Neymar.
46" Real clearly had Barca on the ropes towards the last 15 minutes of the first-half and they start the second too aggressively with Bale rushing in to receive a Carvalho through ball but Bravo charges out to collect.
Half-time
Barcelona 1 (Mathieu 19") Real 1 (Ronaldo 31")
44" YELLOW! Ramos booked.
42" Ronaldo has come alive in the past 10 minutes, firing a bullet-like shot which forces Bravo to leap high and tip it over for a corner. And again it's Bale but this time he misses from close.
40" Real have come into their own and are threatening to score again.
38" Bale is brilliantly tackled by Pique in the box. The ball goes for a corner and Bale scores but is pulled up for off-side.
35" YELLOW! Ronaldo and Jordi Alba get a yellow.
Barcelona 1 (Mathieu 19") Real 1 (Ronaldo 31")
31" GOAL! What a counter-attack from Real. It started with Casillas making a save stopping Neymar from scoring and then finds Kroos with a long throw. Kross puts Benzema in the clear and he does well to back-heel it to Ronaldo who stretches his right foot to toe-poke it home past Bravo.
27" YELLOW! Suarez booked.
24" Real hold onto the ball for almost 90 seconds with some good passing as the Barca defenders just run in circles. Ronaldo is booed every time he touches the ball.
21" YELLOW! Pepe is booked.
Barcelona 1 (Mathieu 19") Real 0
19" GOAL! Jeremy Mathieu heads home from a Messi free-kick leaving Casillas rooted to the ground.
15" Good run by Messi, finds Neymar on the left who in turn lobs it back to Messi but the Argentinian heads wide.
12" Isco shoots inches wide from a corner.
10" Marcelo is left open on the left and he wastes little time in speeding with the ball. He finds Benzema in the box, who looks off-side but not to referee. The Frenchman chips across for Ronaldo who taps it past a leaping Bravo but the ball finds the underneath of the crossbar and comes back into play.
7" Gareth Bale's first real touch is a good one, jinking past a man on the right and finding Karim Benzema streaking through the middle. The Frenchman has to hit it first time and does, but scuffs it across goal.
5" Barcelona mean business as Neymar this time works in tandem with Suarez but Pepe stands like a wall.
2" Iniesta makes a darting run and with Suarez breaks open the Real defence but only win a corner after Isco inadvertently chests the ball over the line.
Neymar gets the ball rolling after the referee blows the whistle.
There's a nice camaraderie between the players in the dugout as they embrace one another but expect a lot of cards once the action gets underway. Two minutes from kick-off.
Kick-off in 10 minutes.
Both the teams are out there in the middle loosening up with the cameras focused on the two prime suspects -- Messi and Ronaldo. Fifteen minutes to kick-off.
We are just 30 minutes away from what could be a cracker of a match. The world's eyes will be turned on the Nou Camp this evening when the two giants of Spanish football lock horns.
Real Madrid make two changes from their last league game as Iker Casillas comes back in in goal and Toni Kroos starts in midfield. Gareth Bale is in.
Barcelona make just one change from the team which toyed with Manchester City. Claudio Bravo returns in goal.
