Neymar, Sanchez lead Barcelona to 2-1 win over Real Madrid

Barcelona, Oct 27 (IANS/EFE) FC Barcelona got goals from South American stars Neymar and Alexis Sanchez in a 2-1 win Saturday over Real Madrid at Camp Nou, extending their lead over their traditional La Liga arch-rival to six points.

Brazilian sensation Neymar opened the scoring in the 19th minute of this season's first "Clasico", receiving a pass on the left side from Andres Iniesta and slotting the ball past net minder Diego Lopez.

Real Madrid's defenders signalled that Neymar was in offside position, but the referees ruled otherwise and let the goal stand.

Two minutes later, Barça super striker Lionel Messi had a chance to give his side a two-goal lead but fired a shot wide, while Real Madrid struggled to get any offence going at all in the first half.

The action heated up over the final 20 minutes of the match, however.

In the 71st minute, Los Blancos superstar Cristiano Ronaldo appeared to be robbed of a penalty opportunity when he was knocked down in the area by defenseman Javier Mascherano.

A minute later, Real Madrid had another chance to score but a blast off the right foot of Karim Benzema smashed off the crossbar and Barcelona's lead was intact.

Sanchez, a Chilean international, then all but sealed the victory in the 79th minute when he maneouvered around defenseman Raphael Varane and lofted a perfect chip over a leaping Lopez.

Real Madrid finally got a goal in stoppage time from Jese Rodriguez but it proved too little too late.

Messi was quiet in Barcelona's victory, while Welsh winger Gareth Bale, who recently transferred to Real Madrid from English club Tottenham for a whopping 100 million euros, had little impact on the match.

With the win, Barcelona moved four points ahead of Atletico Madrid, which will square off against Real Betis Sunday.

--IANS/EFE

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