REAL Madrid beat Barcelona 2-1 in the first Clasico of the season in front of 86,422 fans at the Camp Nou on Sunday.

Barca has now lost a fourth consecutive Clasico for the first time since 1965 and stays a lowly eighth in La Liga, five points behind Real Madrid, which surges back to the top of the table.

It was also the first Clasico game since the exit of Lionel Messi.

Defender David Alaba turned goalscorer in the 32nd minute with a wonderful curling shot from the left side of the area that the outstretched Marc-Andre ter Stegen could not stop.

Alaba’s strike came minutes after American Sergino Dest wasted a great chance for Barcelona, sending his close-range shot soaring over the crossbar.

Lucas Vazquez added a second goal in stoppage time on a counterattack with Barcelona desperately thrown forward in search of an equalizer.

Sergio Aguero pulled one back for Barcelona on a cross from Dest in the final seconds.

The victory moved Madrid to the top of the Spanish league, level on points with Sevilla and Real Sociedad.

The defeat was another blow to Barcelona, which has struggled since its financial troubles kept it from re-signing Messi and other players.

This was the first Clasico without Messi and Madrid’s long-time captain Sergio Ramos, who are now teammates at Paris Saint-Germain. The two between them took part in 45 editions of Spain’s top rivalry. In that time Messi led Barcelona to 19 wins while scoring a record 26 goals for the fixture.

Barcelona’s fans reveled in the first match against Madrid since health restrictions for the pandemic were completely lifted to allow full capacity in the 99,000-seat Camp Nou. Face masks were mandatory, but they did not stop the stadium from once again rocking with drums, chants and the occasional jeers from Barcelona fans, which grew in the final minutes when frustration set in after witnessing another letdown by their team.

Barcelona’s squad from before the pandemic has undergone a major overhaul because of the club’s financial troubles. Where Messi once linked up with Antoine Griezmann on the right flank, Barcelona’s homegrown youngsters Gavi Paez and Oscar Mingueza now team up with Dest.

(SD-Agencies)