Barcelona 1-3 Real Madrid: Sergio Ramos, Luka Modric help send Real top of La Liga.
Report as Real Madrid bounced back from successive defeats to win 3-1 at Barcelona and go to the top of La Liga thanks to goals from Fede Valverde, Sergio Ramos and Luka Modric.
Real Madrid laid down a marker in the La Liga title race as they won 3-1 at Barcelona in the first Clasico of the season.Fede Valverde gave Real the dream start with a fifth-minute strike, before Ansu Fati equalised just three minutes later from close range.
After a nightmare week for Zinedine Zidane, Real started the clash in the best way possible. How Real bounced back to beat Barca? Karim Benzema’s through-ball was perfect for Valverde, who took advantage of lackadaisical Barca defending and finished beyond Neto.
But that joy was short-lived as Barca sliced through the Real defence with their first attack. Jordi Alba bent his run perfectly to beat the offside trap and carried the ball into the box, where he squared for Fati who had a simple finish.
Philippe Coutinho and Messi had already tried their luck from range when Messi saw Courtois produce a moment of magic after 24 minutes. The Argentine used deft feet to beat Ramos in the box and fired in a shot to the near post with his right foot. Courtois was alert and threw himself across the goal to push the ball away.