Sports
Rakitic goal wins El-Clasico as Barca extend La Liga lead
Ivan Rakitic ‘s goal was enough for Barcelona to win a second El Clasico clash in four days, and to go 10 points clear at the top of La Liga.
The leaders knocked Real Madrid out of the Copa del Rey on Wednesday and ended their League title hopes for another season at the Bernabeu on Saturday night.
The win means Barcelona are now 12 points ahead of Real Madrid in third, but 10 points ahead of second-place Atletico Madrid, who play at Real Sociedad on Sunday.
It was also the 96th Clasico victory for Barca, meaning they have more head-to-head victories over their opponents for the first time since 1931.
Read Also: EPL: Man Utd beat Southampton in 5-goal thriller; Man City, Brighton win
It was in the 26th minute of the game that Rakitic kept his composure to beat Thibaut Courtois after a one-two with Sergi Roberto split the home side’s defence.
Courtois went on to produce a double save to keep out Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi, even as Karim Benzema and Raphael Varane were denied on the other side towards the end.
Barca have now won 18 times in 26 games in the league and, barring a disastrous set of results, they will retain the title they won by 14 points last season.
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