After scoring a last-minute goal to beat Real Madrid in El Clásico on Sunday, Barcelona took a big step towards winning its first league title since 2019. Franck Kessié’s goal in stoppage time gave the Catalan club a 2-1 win. With 12 games left, they are now 12 points ahead of Madrid at the top of the La Liga table.
Barcelona beats Real Madrid in thrilling El Clásico to lead La Liga by 12 points
Barca was the better team throughout the game, but they fell behind early when defender Ronald Arajo put a cross into his own net. Real Madrid has had a lot of ups and downs this season. But they came into Sunday’s game after beating Liverpool 6-2 in the Champions League. The 26-time league champions rallied, and Sergi Roberto scored just before halftime to tie the game. The crowd at Camp Nou was full.
Then, Marco Asensio’s late shot was ruled out by the video assistant referee (VAR) because he was offside. In the 92nd minute, Kessié scored the winner to end the tie. But even though Los Blancos had some good moments, they relied too much on Courtois, who made some great saves to keep his team in the game.
“We never gave up, but we are already four games behind them. Nothing is impossible, but the truth is that it’s very difficult,” Real goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois told Movistar Plus, speaking about his side’s league title hopes.
“We’re sad, it’s painful, but we’re proud of the performance we put in,” Ancelotti added.
“It was a complete display from the first minute until the last. We haven’t won it due to an offside which was extremely doubtful. So we’re heading back to Madrid with those doubts still in our minds.”
