Real Madrid claimed a massive 2-0 victory at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium on Sunday night in their rivalry game against FC Barcelona, taking a one-point lead in the La Liga standings and making an important statement after a couple of deflating losses.
Los Blancos withstood a first-half barrage that saw keeper Thibault Courtois make several saves to keep Barcelona off of the scoreboard to find some second half magic thanks to goals from Vinicius Jr. and Mariano Diaz.
The win for Real Madrid was their first in league action over their bitter rivals since April of 2016.
78,357 stadiums packed into the Bernabeu to see a team that was coming off of a disappointing league loss to Levante that saw them lose the top spot in La Liga, as well as a disappointing 1-2 Champions League loss to Manchester City.
Things looked dicey in the first half as Quique Setien’s Blaugrana reached Courtois’s net, threatening to take the lead, but Real Madrid stood tall and then took over in the second half.
After seeing several chances fade out, Vinicius Jr. broke the 0-0 deadlock with a 71st-minute goal to put his team up by one score, sending the stadium into a frenzy.
Little-used substitute Mariano Diaz provided an insurance goal as time expired, giving Madrid a 2-0 win that propels them back into first place in the La Liga table.
