BARCELONA, Oct 24: With Lionel Messi no longer around to save the day, Barcelona slumped to another painful loss on Sunday when it fell 2-1 to its fiercest rival at a packed Camp Nou.
Real Madrid didn’t need a stellar performance by Karim Benzema to give coach Carlo Ancelotti his first win at this stadium. It was enough to let Barcelona flail against its defense while defenders David Alaba and Lucas Váquez chose when they could inflict damage by scoring goals in each half.
The win by Ancelotti’s side will deepen the crisis at Barcelona, which has lost all its matches against major rivals this season.
The victory moved Madrid to the top of the Spanish league, level on points with Sevilla and Real Sociedad. Sociedad can reclaim the lead when it faces defending champion Atlético Madrid.
In the 32nd, Alaba turned goal-scorer with a wonderful curling shot from the left side of the area that the outstretched Marc-Andre ter Stegen could not stop.
Vázquez added a second goal in stoppage time on a counterattack with Barcelona desperately thrown forward in search of an equalizer.
Sergio Agüero pulled one back for Barcelona on a cross in the final seconds. (AP)
