MADRID: Barcelona took a major step toward winning their first Spanish league title since 2019 after coming from behind to beat Real Madrid 2-1 on Sunday.
Franck Kessie scored in stoppage time to give Barcelona the home victory and a 12-point lead over second-place Madrid with 12 matches to go.
Barcelona’s players huddled and celebrated on the field after the final whistle at Camp Nou.
The Catalan club was saved by the VAR for the second consecutive game, as Madrid had a potential go-ahead goal by Marco Asensio called back in the 81st minute because of offside. Last week, they edged Athletic Bilbao when an 87th-minute equalizer by Athletic forward Iñaki Williams was disallowed by video review.
Barcelona went into the match still facing criticism over their payments of several millions of dollars over several years to the former vice president of the country’s refereeing committee. Prosecutors have formally accused Barcelona of alleged corruption, fraudulent management and falsification of documentation. Madrid are among the clubs siding against Barcelona in the legal proceedings, as is the Spanish government, the league and the soccer federation. Barcelona have consistently denied any wrongdoing or conflict of interest, saying it paid for technical reports on referees but never tried to influence their decisions in games.
Madrid needed a win in the last league “clasico” of the season to give theselves a realistic chance of catching Barcelona and defending their title.
Barcelona won eight league titles in 11 seasons through 2019. They finished second to Madrid in 2020, then third — behind Madrid and champion Atletico Madrid — in 2021, and second to Madrid again last season. They are seeking their 27th league title, which would leave them eight behind Madrid.
Barcelona were in control for much of the match on Sunday, creating most of the significant chances.
But the visitors opened the scoring in the ninth minute with a fortunate own-goal by Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo, who redirected the ball into the net with a header after a cross by Madrid forward Vinicius Junior from the left side of the area.
Sergi Roberto equalized after picking up a loose ball inside the area in the 45th, and Kessie netted the winner from the middle of the box after a late breakaway as Madrid made a final push for the victory.
Madrid had thought it went ahead when Asensio found the net from near the penalty spot after a pass by Dani Carvajal, but video review determined the goal couldn’t count because of offside in a tight call.
It was the second match between the rivals in less than three weeks. Barcelona won 1-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium on March 3 in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semifinals. The return leg at Camp Nou is on April 5.
Madrid won the first league “clasico” 3-1 at the Bernabeu.
Barcelona was without playmaker Pedri and forward Ousmane Dembele because of injuries, while Madrid’s only absence was defender David Alaba, also because of an injury. Barcelona players wore the logo of international singer Rosalia instead of Spotify’s brand as part of its strategic agreement with the music streaming service. Rosalia was selected as she celebrates the one-year release of her hit album Motomami.
Elsewhere,Takefusa Kubo scored as Real Sociedad beat last-place Elche 2-0 to end their winless streak and regain sole possession of fourth place in the league.
Ander Barrenetxea also scored in the second half for Sociedad, who hadn’t won in six games in all competitions, including four straight in the league. They were coming off elimination against Roma in the Europa League on Thursday.
The win gave the Basque Country club a three-point gap over fifth-place Real Betis in the fight for the Champions League places.
Playmaker David Silva led Sociedad over Elche, who have won only two of its last 11 league games. It sits 14 points from safety.
Sociedad’s last league win had been at Espanyol in February.
Betis ended their four-game winless streak in all competitions with Borja Iglesias scoring a second-half goal in a 1-0 victory over midtable Mallorca at home. Betis had been eliminated by Manchester United in the Europa League.
Villarreal, another Spanish club that failed to advance in European competition after losing to Anderlecht, rebounded in the Spanish league with a 3-0 win at Osasuna.
Villarreal were coming off a three-game winless streak. They stayed in sixth place, four points behind Betis and seven from Sociedad.
Getafe left the relegation zone with a 2-0 home win over Sevilla, who stayed two points from the danger area. Sevilla have won only one of their last five league games, but were the only Spanish team to advance in the Europa League after eliminating Fenerbahce on Thursday.
