REAL Madrid moved to the top of La Liga with a win over Barcelona in El Clasico played in heavy rain at Alfredo Di Stefano Stadium.
Karim Benzema broke the final with a sublime flick near the post – his ninth goal in his last seven La Liga games.
Real doubled their lead before half-time through Toni Kroos’s fiery free-kick.
Oscar Mingueza pulled one back for Barca before Casemiro from Madrid got a late red card.
Barca midfielder Ilaix Moriba’s shot came back off the crossbar at stoppage time as the hosts took hold.
The result takes Real at points with Atletico Madrid and Real ahead of their city rivals due to their superior head-to-head record.
Atletico, who led La Liga by 10 points as recently as January 31, can regain the top with a win at Real Betis today.
Full time survival finale
Manager Zinedine Zidane’s “all games are final” mantra has served Real well in recent weeks – they had dropped just four points in their previous nine La Liga outings heading into Saturday’s crucial game.
Benzema’s goals have been instrumental in helping to break the gap for rivals Atletico at the top of the table, and the Frenchman produced another fine finish to give Zidane an early lead.
The 33-year-old was first to Lucas Vazquez’s low cross towards the near post, pressing a backhand flick past Marc-Andre ter Stegen for his 25th goal in 35 appearances this season.
Barcelona, who had revived their own title aspirations with 16 wins and three draws from their previous 19 La Liga games, dominated possession but fell further behind when Kroos’ free kick deflected off Sergino Dest on his way past Ter Stegen.
Federico Valverde could have made it 3-0 before half time, but his fierce drive across the goal came back off the inside of the far post.
Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman switched from a 3-5-2 formation to a 4-3-3 formation in the second half and the move paid off 15 minutes after the restart, Mingueza turning Jordi Alba’s cross past Thibaut Courtois to set up a tense finish.
Vinicius Junior was denied the post as Real threatened to regain their advantage by two goals, before Lionel Messi – who had fouled the woodwork in the first half with an insular corner – hit the wall from a free-kick at the edge of the box.
A penalty appeal to Barcelona was dismissed when Martin Braithwaite fell to the ground under the challenge of Ferland Mendy, before a late tackle on Mingueza won Casemiro a second yellow card.
The visitors nearly grabbed an equalizer in stoppage time when Moriba beat a loose ball against crossbar Courtois, but Real went on to record three consecutive El Clasico wins for the first time since 1978. (BBC Sport).