La Liga 09/10: Barca win El Clasico thanks to Ibra

Zlatan Ibrahimovic came off the bench to give Barcelona a 1-0 win over Real Madrid and leapfrog them at the head of the table.

The best chance of the first half fell to Cristiano Ronaldo but his goalbound shot was brilliantly saved by Victor Valdes with his out-stretched right leg.

As Barca pushed for the win Ibrahimovic came off the bench in the 51st minute and five minutes later superbly volleyed home a Dani Alves cross.

But the Catalans went down to ten men on 62 minutes when Sergi Busquets received a second yellow for handball.

Gerard Pique could then have won it for the home side but headed wide from a Xavi free-kick with the goal gaping, while Iker Casillas denied Lionel Messi with a minute to go.

Real were then also reduced to ten-men when Lassana Diarra was sent off for a second yellow card after fouling Xavi in the dying seconds as Barca held on for the win.

The home side looked the more fluid of the two sides early on, but Madrid proved to be just as dangerous on the break.

Marcelo and Xavi both blasted over the bar in the opening 10 minutes as both sides began brightly.

Diarra was then dismissed a minute later for scything down Xavi as frustration got to Madrid, who are now two points behind their rivals at the top of the table.