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As it happenedended1459631104

El Clasico as it happened: Cristiano Ronaldo grabs late goal as ten-man Real Madrid overcome Barcelona

Follow all the latest from club football's grandest showpiece at the Nou Camp

Mark Critchley
Saturday 02 April 2016 14:46 BST
Javier Mascherano holds off Karim Benzema
Javier Mascherano holds off Karim Benzema (Getty)

¡Hola! Welcome to The Independent’s live coverage of Saturday’s El Clasico.

Zinedine Zidane takes charge of Real Madrid in club football's grandest showpiece for the first time, with his side ten points off their league-leading rivals.

Barcelona have all but tied up La Liga and, given their dominance over the division, even a defeat today would not be that damaging.

If Real do pick up an unlikely win at the Nou Camp however, it could land an important psychological blow on Barça, especially if both sides meet in the forthcoming Champions League semi-finals.

Barcelona vs Real Madrid

Kick-off: 7.30pm

Preview

Five things to look out for at the Nou Camp

Team news

Barcelona: Bravo; Alves, Piqué, Mascherano, Alba; Rakitic, Busquets, Iniesta; Messi, Suarez, Neymar.

Substitutes: Ter Stegen, Bartra, Vermaelen, Sergi Roberto, Arda, Rafinha, Munir

Real Madrid: Navas; Carvajal, Pepe, Ramos, Marcelo; Kroos, Casemiro, Modric; Ronaldo, Benzema, Bale

Substitutes: Casilla, Danilo, Nacho, Vazquez, Isco, James, Jesé

Follow all the action on our live blog below…

Please allow a moment for the live blog to load.

What’s the form?

Barcelona: WWWWWD

Real Madrid: LWWWWW

What does the league table look like?

La Liga table (Google)

What happened last time?

Barcelona 4 Real Madrid 0
La Liga, 21 November 2015

What are the odds?

Barcelona: 7/11

Draw: 37/10

Real Madrid: 43/10

Barcelona 5 Real Madrid 0: 55/1

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19 min: Navas stops Rakitic!

Ivan Rakitic shoots from the edge of the box after some chaotic defending allows the loose ball to break to him. 

Thankfully for Real, Navas reacts quickly and is down low to push the effort wide.

Mark Critchley2 April 2016 19:52
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21 min: Some nice interplay around Real's box allows Neymar to have a shot on goal but his sights are a bit off and the ball ends up travelling high and wide of Navas' goal.

Mark Critchley2 April 2016 19:54
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24 min: Penalty shout for Barcelona!Sergio Ramos' forceful challenge on Lionel Messi on the edge of the penalty area sends much of the Nou Camp into hysterics, Luis Enrique included.He doesn't appear to get the ball on first viewing but there were few protests among the Barcelona players.

Mark Critchley2 April 2016 19:57
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26 min: Ronaldo shoots on goal!

The first real effort by the visitors sees their talisman's screwballed-shot beaten away unconvincingly by Bravo.

With that coming on top of a dodgy take off a previous corner, it's been a shaky start from the Chilean. Good job his team are keeping their opponents at bay.

Mark Critchley2 April 2016 20:00
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29 min: Ronaldo stands over a free-kick, centre of the field, 30 yards out. He begins his trademark  run-up and, as per usual, sees his effort sail over the top.When is somebody going to tell Cristiano he's just not that good at free-kicks?

Mark Critchley2 April 2016 20:03
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34 min: The action's lulled somewhat after a starting to click into gear at around the quarter-of-an-hour mark.Real, understandably, seem happy to sit deep and absorb Barcelona's pressure in the knowledge that this incarnation of Barça are, first and foremost, a counter-attacking side.

Mark Critchley2 April 2016 20:08
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39 min: Cristiano Ronaldo just tracked a run all the way to right-back. Is that a first?Well, he almost gave away a penalty on Jordi Alba too but we'll overlook that.

Mark Critchley2 April 2016 20:13
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41 min: Alves chance!

We almost see a collector's item as Dani Alves latches onto a cross from the left wing and swings at it with his right boot.

His effort rises and rises until it's lost somewhere in the stands but still, the first real chance we've had for a while.

Mark Critchley2 April 2016 20:14
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43 min: Benzema shoots wildly!

The France international has the freedom of Barcelona's penalty box to direct his shot on goal but instead, screws it well over.

It sums up his half. He's not impressed.

Mark Critchley2 April 2016 20:15
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It's a clear foul, yes, but am I right in thinking it's outside the box?  c61cb199-1517-4d41-85ea-6467c42f6052.png

Penalty or not? Messi and Barcelona are not happy after this was not awarded. #ElClasicohttps://t.co/U7m7hoBKPUhttps://t.co/GTcQxh5cZS001c4765-7a20-401b-b061-a632c46d8e1a.jpg

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Mark Critchley2 April 2016 20:17

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