Real Madrid edge out Barcelona in fiery Clasico

MADRID, Oct 26 (Reuters): Goals from Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham earned Real Madrid a 2-1 victory over Barcelona in a spiky El Clasico on Sunday that snapped a four-match losing streak against their rivals and extended their lead atop the LaLiga standings.

Mbappe opened the scoring in the 22nd minute with a close-range finish after a perfectly timed through ball from Bellingham. However, Barcelona capitalised on a mistake by Arda Guler to equalise in the 38th minute through Fermin Lopez.

Real regained the lead five minutes later when Bellingham tapped in from inside the six-yard box following an inspired run and cross by Vinicius Jr. Real had several chances but were denied by an excellent display from Barca keeper Wojciech Szczesny, who kept out Mbappe's penalty early in the second half.

Barcelona barely threatened Real keeper Thibaut Courtois after the break and finished the match with 10 men after midfielder Pedri earned a second yellow card for a sliding tackle from behind on Aurelien Tchouameni in added time.

The closing stages were marked by drama as Vinicius Jr reacted angrily to being substituted by manager Alonso, storming down the tunnel before returning to the bench.

The Brazilian was later involved in a heated exchange between players from both sides, prompting Spanish police to intervene and prevent a full-scale brawl.

Real moved to 27 points at the top of the LaLiga standings, five ahead of Barcelona in second. After four consecutive defeats to Barcelona across three competitions, Real Madrid entered the match like a team that was desperately in need of a statement win to validate the project of new manager Xabi Alonso. "I'm very happy for the lads. They needed this feeling of winning a big match," Alonso told reporters.

"We know it's still October and it's early days, that we have a lot of work to do. But we wanted to feel good about ourselves, and that's how it's been. We need a lot of what we've seen today."