Barcelona beat Real Madrid 3-0

Bernabeu : Barcelona moved 14 points clear of Real Madrid in La Liga as three second-half goals wrapped up a convincing 3-0 victory at the Bernabeu.

Zinedine Zidane’s men had the better of a tight first period but Barcelona took control in the second and Luis Suarez swept home the opener before a Lionel Messi penalty took the game beyond Real.

It was a strange spot kick award by referee Jose Maria Sanchez Martinez, who could simply have awarded a goal rather than a penalty after Dani Carvajal handled on the line but then knocked the ball in as he lost his footing. The decision also saw Carvajal sent off.

Substitute Aleix Vidal added a third in stoppage time, and the title now looks almost certain to return to the Nou Camp as La Liga prepares to enter its winter break.

Cristiano Ronaldo headed in off the underside of the bar for Madrid in the second minute but it was rightly disallowed for offside, as the hosts made a bright start.

He then swung and missed at a low centre from Toni Kroos, with Andres Iniesta just getting to the loose ball ahead of the onrushing Carvajal to concede a corner.

Real were dominating possession and Messi dropped deeper and deeper in a bid to influence the game as the inclusion of Mateo Kovacic in Real’s midfield looked a masterstroke. Messi almost created the opener on the half-hour mark.