Real Madrid vs. Barcelona score: Benzema, Kroos lift Los Blancos to victory and into first place in La Liga

Los Blancos scored a huge win to boost their title hopes

Real Madrid jumped out to a 2-0 lead over Barcelona on Saturday in El Clasico and barely hung on, beating their fierce rivals 2-1 in a game with huge title implications in La Liga. Real got some help from the crossbar at the very end to salvage the result after going down to 10 men. 

Karim Benzema scored a stunning goal with a fancy touch 13 minutes in to make it 1-0 and set the tone:

Then, with Real pushing forward, Toni Kroos got a fortunate bounce on a free kick 15 minutes later as Zinedine Zidane's team took full control. But Barca battled back, coming close several times. 

Craving even more coverage of the world's game? Listen below and subscribe to ¡Qué Golazo! A Daily CBS Soccer Podcast where we take you beyond the pitch and around the globe for commentary, previews, recaps and more.

After Oscar Mingueza scored on the hour mark to make it 2-1, numerous Barca players had chances to bring it level but couldn't. Young talent Ilaix Moriba settled the ball in the box and rocked a shot off the crossbar just seconds before the final whistle.

The result lifts Real Madrid into first place in the league with 66 points, while Barca remain in third place with 55 points. Atletico Madrid, who entered the weekend in first, are in second with 66 points with Real holding the tiebreaker on head-to-head points. 

[Apr 10, 2021 at 4:53 pm ET · Roger Gonzalez]

Off the crossbar at the last second! Barca nearly take a point at the death! Wow!