Real Madrid piled renewed pressure on Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman as David Alaba scored a scintillating goal to help seal a 2-1 victory in the Clasico at Camp Nou on Sunday.
Alaba’s bending shot had Madrid in front for the majority of an end-to-end contest, with Lucas Vazquez making it two in injury-time before Sergio Aguero tapped in his first goal for Barcelona with seconds left.
Barca have now lost a fourth consecutive Clasico for the first time since 1965 and stay a lowly eighth in La Liga, five points behind Madrid, who surge back to the top of the table.
After beating Valencia and winning a crucial Champions League game against Dynamo Kiev this week, it is a fresh set-back for Barca and Koeman, whose future will again come under scrutiny.
Madrid, meanwhile, see their own recovery bolstered, after backing up a thumping win over Shakhtar Donetsk to leave a rocky run in the rear-view mirror.