Spanish La Liga
BarcelonaBarcelona2Real MadridReal Madrid1

Barcelona 2-1 Real Madrid: Franck Kessie scores late winner as Barca move 12 points clear

By Michael EmonsBBC Sport
Barcelona players celebrate Franck Kessie's winning goal against Real Madrid
Barcelona are aiming to win La Liga for the 27th time

Franck Kessie scored a dramatic late winner as Barcelona beat Real Madrid to move 12 points clear in La Liga.

Real went ahead in El Clasico against the run of play as Vinicius Jr's cross was headed into his own net by Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo.

Barca equalised just before half-time through Sergi Roberto's shot after Raphinha's effort had been blocked.

Marco Asensio saw a late strike for Real ruled out for offside, before Kessie scored the injury-time winner.

Both sides have 12 league matches remaining and Barca are in a dominant position as they look to win the title for the first time since 2018-19.

Roberto said: "You can never say [the title] is over but we have now gone 12 points clear so it's difficult for them.

"It's down to us and that's the most important thing. I'm just glad to have helped the team with a goal. It was epic at the end and I'm pleased for Franck to get the goal.

"The game swung when we thought Asensio had scored, it was ruled offside and we scored. It feels even better when you win with a late goal and it's fantastic to do so in front of our supporters."

Barcelona's Sergi Roberto equalises against Real Madrid at the Nou Camp
Sergi Roberto equalised for Barcelona at the Nou Camp with his fourth La Liga goal of the season

Reigning Spanish champions Real came into this game having beaten Liverpool 1-0 on Wednesday to complete a 6-2 aggregate victory to move into the Champions League quarter-finals.

Karim Benzema, who scored against the Reds, had the first shot of the match inside the opening minute but saw his effort from outside the penalty area well held by Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

But the visitors were then indebted to goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois as he made excellent saves to keep out Robert Lewandowski's well-struck 25-yard effort and Raphinha's header.

Real took a ninth-minute lead, but Barcelona, 26-time Spanish champions, had the better of the first half.

Andreas Christensen was unable to take two opportunities and Raphinha had a shot tipped over by Courtois before Roberto levelled in the 45th minute.

Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jr pats Ronald Araujo on the shoulder after the Barcelona defender's own goal
Ronald Araujo scored the first own goal in El Clasico in La Liga in the 21st Century

Lewandowski, the top scorer in La Liga with 15 goals, had a shot deflected just wide, before Real substitute Rodrygo fired over at the other end in his first involvement.

Raphinha nearly won it in the 74th minute but was denied by another excellent Courtois save while Lewandowski also shot into the side netting.

Asensio had only been on the pitch for six minutes when he put the ball in the net for Real late on, but the goal was ruled out after a tight video assistant referee offside decision.

Substitute Kessie was then Barcelona's hero in the 92nd minute, finishing after good work from Alejandro Balde.

Barcelona manager Xavi said: "The league is not decided but it's a huge win of course.

"I think we deserved the win and we were better than Real Madrid, we created more opportunities."

Barcelona are next in action on 1 April with an away game at Elche before Real Madrid entertain Real Valladolid the following day.

Line-ups

Barcelona

Formation 4-3-3

  • 1ter Stegen
  • 4Araújo
  • 23Koundé
  • 15Christensen
  • 28BaldeBooked at 90mins
  • 20RobertoBooked at 65minsSubstituted forKessiéat 77'minutes
  • 5Busquets
  • 21F de Jong
  • 22RaphinhaBooked at 33minsSubstituted forF Torresat 83'minutes
  • 9Lewandowski
  • 6GaviSubstituted forAnsu Fatiat 90+1'minutesBooked at 90mins

Substitutes

  • 10Ansu Fati
  • 11F Torres
  • 13Peña Sotorres
  • 17Alonso
  • 18Alba
  • 19Kessié
  • 24García
  • 32Torre
  • 36Tenas
  • 38Alarcón

Real Madrid

Formation 4-2-3-1

  • 1Courtois
  • 2Carvajal
  • 3Militão
  • 22Rüdiger
  • 6NachoBooked at 18minsSubstituted forMendyat 62'minutes
  • 12CamavingaSubstituted forTchouaméniat 76'minutes
  • 8KroosSubstituted forRodrygoat 62'minutes
  • 15ValverdeSubstituted forAsensioat 76'minutes
  • 10ModricBooked at 69minsSubstituted forCeballosat 76'minutesBooked at 90mins
  • 20Vinícius Júnior
  • 9Benzema

Substitutes

  • 5Vallejo
  • 7E Hazard
  • 11Asensio
  • 13Lunin
  • 16Odriozola
  • 17Vázquez
  • 18Tchouaméni
  • 19Ceballos
  • 21Rodrygo
  • 23Mendy
  • 24Mariano
  • 26López Andúgar
Referee:
Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea
Attendance:
95,745

Match Stats

Home TeamBarcelonaAway TeamReal Madrid
Possession
Home54%
Away46%
Shots
Home17
Away11
Shots on Target
Home7
Away3
Corners
Home8
Away1
Fouls
Home12
Away13

Live Text

  1. Post update

    Match ends, Barcelona 2, Real Madrid 1.

  2. Full Time

    Second Half ends, Barcelona 2, Real Madrid 1.

  3. Post update

    Delay over. They are ready to continue.

  4. Booking

    Dani Ceballos (Real Madrid) is shown the yellow card.

  5. Booking

    Ansu Fati (Barcelona) is shown the yellow card.

  6. Post update

    Delay in match (Real Madrid).

  7. Post update

    Offside, Real Madrid. Rodrygo tries a through ball, but Karim Benzema is caught offside.

  8. Post update

    Ansu Fati (Barcelona) wins a free kick on the left wing.

  9. Post update

    Foul by Aurélien Tchouaméni (Real Madrid).

  10. Post update

    Frenkie de Jong (Barcelona) wins a free kick on the left wing.

  11. Post update

    Foul by Daniel Carvajal (Real Madrid).

  12. Goal!

    Goal! Barcelona 2, Real Madrid 1. Franck Kessié (Barcelona) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Alejandro Balde.

  13. Substitution

    Substitution, Barcelona. Ansu Fati replaces Gavi.

  14. Booking

    Alejandro Balde (Barcelona) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.

  15. Post update

    Foul by Alejandro Balde (Barcelona).

  16. Post update

    Marco Asensio (Real Madrid) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  17. Post update

    Attempt blocked. Gavi (Barcelona) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Franck Kessié.

  18. Post update

    Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

  19. Post update

    Foul by Aurélien Tchouaméni (Real Madrid).

  20. Post update

    Corner, Real Madrid. Conceded by Ronald Araújo.

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Scores, Results & Fixtures

Sunday 19th March 2023

As It Stood

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1Barcelona2622224994068
2Real Madrid26175451213056
3Atl Madrid26156542192351
4Real Sociedad26146635241148
5Real Betis2613673426845
6Villarreal2612593224841
7Ath Bilbao26106103628836
8Rayo Vallecano269983130136
9Osasuna2697102227-534
10Celta Vigo2697103235-334
11Mallorca2695122227-532
12Girona2687114041-131
13Getafe2678112734-729
14Sevilla2677122942-1328
15Cádiz26610102138-1728
16Real Valladolid2684142038-1828
17Espanyol2669113242-1027
18Valencia2675142831-326
19Almería2675143045-1526
20Elche2627171951-3213
View full Spanish La Liga table

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