barcelona vs real madrid

Real Madrid beat Barcelona for the second time in five days, earning a 2-1 win which will do little to prevent its fierce rival from reclaiming the Spanish league title but should boost Jose Mourinho's team ahead of its critical Champions League trip to Manchester United.

Sergio Ramos netted the winner in the 82nd minute when he rose up to head in Luka Modric's corner to give Madrid its first home league victory over Barcelona since 2008 in a game that grew testy toward the end and saw Barca goalkeeper Victor Valdes sent off for protesting.

Lionel Messi had extended his Spanish league scoring record to 16 straight games when he equalized in the 18th minute to cancel out Karim Benzema's sixth-minute opener. That was Messi's 18th career goal in "clasico" matches to tie Madrid great Alfredo Di Stefano's mark set in the 1950s and `60s, but

Barcelona was otherwise a shadow of the thrilling team that until last season had dominated the rivalry in recent years.

Madrid even managed without Cristiano Ronaldo for much of the match, as Mourinho rested the Portuguese winger until the final half hour with the game against United on Tuesday in mind.

Ronaldo scored twice on Tuesday in a 3-1 win over Barcelona at Camp Nou that put Madrid into the Copa del Rey final.

While Madrid remains 13 points behind Barcelona in the league, this result could allow second-place Atletico Madrid to cut the deficit to nine points at Malaga.

Barcelona has now flopped in its last three games against major opponents after also losing 2-0 at AC Milan in the Champions League. It faces an uphill battle against the Italian side in the return leg on March 12 and must look to regroup quickly.

Madrid, meanwhile, played with more confidence even with a number of regular backups in its starting lineup as it earned back-to-back wins over Barcelona for the first time since the 2007-08 season.

Midfielders Xabi Alonso and Mesut Oezil were also given a rest, along with forward Angel Di Maria. Madrid visits United on Tuesday with their last-16 tie poised at 1-1.