Real Madrid 3-2 Barcelona: Late Bellingham goal delivers Clasico victory to take Los Blancos closer to title

Jude Bellingham came through in the clutch during stoppage time for Real Madrid in a second consecutive La Liga El Clasico, with Los Blancos defeating arch-rivals Barcelona 3-2 in the final moments to widen their lead at the top to a nearly insurmountable 11 points.

The intense build-up to Spain's most famous match was heightened for Barcelona, who understood that a victory was crucial to keep their slim hopes of a late title challenge alive, and they capitalized on that pressure by scoring an early goal in the sixth minute for the second league Clásico in a row.

A corner kick was delivered to the far post by Raphinha, catching Andriy Lunin off guard and finding the head of Andreas Christensen, who nodded the ball into the net for his first league goal since April of last year.

Real Madrid's response quickly nullified Barcelona's early lead, as their dominance led to a rapid equalizer.

Lucas Vazquez left Joao Cancelo behind and drew a foul from Pau Cubarsí in the box, allowing Vinicius Junior to convert the penalty to the left of Marc-Andre ter Stegen from 12 yards out, ending Barcelona's streak of six matches without conceding a goal.

Following that equalizer, there was some controversy as VAR struggled to determine whether Lamine Yamal's flick had crossed the goal line, while Real Madrid missed opportunities of their own towards the end of the first half.

The absence of the highly influential Frenkie de Jong due to injury just before the break led to a more open midfield play, however, the 78,000 spectators in the capital had to wait until the final 20 minutes for the game to intensify once again.

The visitors regained the lead abruptly when 20-year-old Fermin Lopez scored into an empty net after Lunin failed to stop Yamal's shot, but they were quickly equalized just moments later.

Vinicius delivered a dangerous low cross to the back post, where Vazquez arrived swiftly to shoot it past Ter Stegen.

Barcelona, in greater need of a victory than their rivals, fought hard for an equalizer, but a familiar opponent capitalized on their defensive weaknesses.

Bellingham, who scored a late winner in the previous match, connected with Vazquez's precise pass at the far post to smash the ball into the top of the net, sealing a memorable triumph.

Barca's 10-game unbeaten streak comes to an end, and now they require a miracle if they are to keep their hopes of retaining the La Liga title alive.