A deflected Vinicius Jnr goal and a late Mariano clincher handed Real Madrid a crucial Clasico victory over Barcelona, as they triumphed 2-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday night.
⭐ FC Star Man: Dani Carvajal (8.6)
In what was a poor quality contest, both sides had a series of half-chances but didn't look like scoring, with Lionel Messi forcing an excellent save from Thibaut Courtois while at the other end a curling Isco shot was brilliantly parried away by Marc-Andre Ter Stegen.
Vinicius had been a frustrating figure in the clash but his 71st minute shot was fortunately deflected into the net by Gerard Pique, while Messi could only look on in frustration as the match got away from the Catalan side.
Messi was, in truth, a forlorn figure, regularly being robbed of possession while trying to dribble through, and his sprint through on goal only to be robbed by Marcelo was indicative of an evening which got away from both him and his team.
Substitute Mariano sealed the win by squeezing in his shot in injury time, and in the end it was Madrid's evening, show infinitely more fight and effort than their rivals, moving back to the top of the La Liga table in the process.
Substitute in, Mariano Díaz.
Substitute out, Karim Benzema.
Assist given by Dani Carvajal.
Goal by Mariano Díaz.
Substitute in, Lucas Vázquez.
Substitute out, Federico Valverde.
Yellow card for Lionel Messi.
Substitute in, Ansu Fati.
Substitute out, Antoine Griezmann.
Substitute in, Ivan Rakitić.
Substitute out, Arthur.
Substitute in, Luka Modrić.
Substitute out, Isco.
Assist given by Toni Kroos.
Goal by Vinícius Júnior.
Substitute in, Martin Braithwaite.
Substitute out, Arturo Vidal.
Yellow card for Jordi Alba.
Yellow card for Dani Carvajal.
Yellow card for Vinícius Júnior.