Barca move clear in La Liga as Real Madrid stumble

Robert Lewandowski shouldered home a dramatic late winner for Barcelona as they edged Atletico Madrid 2-1 on Saturday to move seven points clear at the top of La Liga after Real Madrid slipped up.

Second-placed Real were beaten 2-1 at Mallorca earlier on and Barca capitalised at the Metropolitano stadium to take a big step towards defending the league title.

Marcus Rashford pulled Barca level after Giuliano Simeone opened the scoring for the hosts in the first half.

Atletico midfielder Nico Gonzalez was sent off just before the break and his team dug deep with 10 men to try and avoid defeat, which they almost managed.

Veteran Polish striker Lewandowski had other ideas and used his shoulder to deflect home a rebound from point-blank range after 87 minutes.

This was the first of a trilogy of matches between the sides, clashing in the Champions League quarter-finals over the next fortnight. - AFP