As It Happened: El Clasico - Barcelona 2-2 Real Madrid

Welcome to Nigerianeye's live text coverage of the La Liga meeting between Barcelona and Real Madrid at Camp Nou.


Barca have already wrapped up the title and now have just four more games to tick off if they are to see out the campaign unbeaten.

Madrid, meanwhile, are aiming to close the gap on Atletico Madrid in second and will move to within a point of their rivals with victory here.

Follow all of the action from the 238th El Clasico showdown with our extensive updates below.

OFFICIAL LINE-UPS

BARCELONA: Ter Stegen; Roberto, Pique, Umtiti, Alba; Rakitic, Busquets, Iniesta; Coutinho, L.Suarez, Messi

SUBS: Cillessen, Paulinho, Dembele, Alcacer, Semedo, D.Suarez, Vermaelen


REAL MADRID: Navas; Nacho, Varane, Ramos, Marcelo; Modric, Casemiro, Kroos; Bale, Benzema, Ronaldo

SUBS: Casilla, Vallejo, Theo, Lucas, Asensio, Kovacic, Ceballos






















































The referee brings a close to what was an entertaining and evenly-contested clash at Camp Nou. Barca twice took the lead and were twice pegged back by their El Clasico rivals, but a point has to be considered a good return after being reduced to 10 men late in the first half. Thanks for joining our live coverage of the match!

90+4 min FULL TIME: BARCELONA 2-2 REAL MADRID

90+2 min Still, with two of four added-on minutes, now played, neither side willing to give this one up. We really are into the final throes now so any goal would win it - a chance for one of these players to make themselves a hero.

90 min BARCELONA SUB! Barca will be the happier with the point because Madrid are starting to bombard their box. No sign of Ousmane Dembele - Paco Alcacer instead the man preferred to see out this match, taking over from Luis Suarez.

88 min Barca were down to nine men for a few moments as Luis Suarez required treatment and needed to wait for permission to re-enter the pitch. Madrid throwing plenty of bodies forward now, leaving themselves open to the counter-attack.

86 min There is definitely a sense that we are not finished here. Not a great deal riding on the match on the face of it, but you would not know that because both sets of players are desperate to find a winning goal as we enter the final four minutes.

84 min REAL MADRID SUB! Mateo Kovacic, who turns 24 today, comes on for Toni Kroos. Difficult to ascertain whether Zidane will consider this a point gained or two points lost - either way we are heading towards a draw here.

82 min CLOSE! Lionel Messi wants to write his name all over another El Clasico. First, the five-time Ballon d'Or winner curled a shot inches wide of the target, before forcing Keylor Navas into his save at his front post.

80 min A grandstand finish of sorts here because Madrid are showing no signs of taking their foot off the gas. At the same time, Barcelona always have a late goal in them, particularly with that man Lionel Messi - 26 El Clasico goals for him - still on the pitch.

78 min PENALTY APPEAL! Jordi Alba takes the legs of Marcelo - a stonewall penalty but one that once again does not go in Madrid's favour. Moments later, Gareth Bale was rightly cautioned for wiping out Barca full-back Nelson Semedo.

76 min What a brilliant game of football this has been between two sides after all three points. Barca have dropped deep over the past 10 minutes and there was a sense that a Madrid goal was coming, and you would fancy the visitors to now push on and score a third.

74 min Superb finish from Gareth Bale - just his second goal in 11 El Clasico showdowns. The Welshman curled the ball out of Marc-Andre ter Stegen's reach by putting enough spin on his shot from the edge of the area - no chance of keeping that out.

73 min GOAL! BARCELONA 2-2 REAL MADRID (GARETH BALE)

71 min SAVE! Keylor Navas comes out on top in his battle with Lionel Messi to keep his side in the match. Messi had space to run into and just the keeper to beat, but the shot was at a nice height for Navas to push it aside.

69 min The ball is crying out for Asensio to volley on target, but he miscues his attempt and the chance goes begging. Madrid started to take back some control of the match, and they still have 20 minutes to bag themselves at least a point.

67 min REAL MADRID SUB! Tiredness perhaps starting to creep in now because Barcelona, the better side in this second half, have started to drop deep and invite pressure on themselves. Lucas Vazquez is on for Nacho at right-back.

65 min Messi stands over the free kick from 25 yards but can only strike the top of the wall. A good run from Gareth Bale came from little moments later, as Samuel Umtiti barged him off the ball - legally, in the view of the Spanish referee.

63 min Nacho and Casemiro sandwich Messi and the referee awards a free kick. It must be said, Barca have been the more threatening side in the second half, despite losing Sergio Roberto to a red card late in the opening 45 minutes.

61 min Ramos with a couple of challenges, which Barca fans certainly feel was worthy of a caution. The Spanish centre-back is one of three Madrid defenders to have been booked in the first half so he is certainly walking a tightrope right now.

59 min A teasing cross from Semedo is inches out of Paulinho's reach. The substitute midfielder accidentally collided with Keylor Navas when sliding in and there is now a stoppage in play for the Madrid keeper to receive some treatment.

57 min BARCELONA SUB! Madrid feel hard done by but they still have more than a third of the match left to go. Barcelona make their third and final change, as Andres Iniesta leaves the Camp Nou field for one of the last times to be replaced by Paulinho.

55 min Madrid's players were furious that Barca's second goal was allowed to stand. Replays show why they were so angry - Luis Suarez kicked the leg of Raphael Varane before feeding the ball to Lionel Messi, who did the rest inside the box.

53 min Barcelona, despite the man disadvantage, regain their lead at Camp Nou! Marco Asensio shot straight at Marc-Andre ter Stegen at one end; Lionel Messi fared a lot better at the other as he shifted the ball past two men and tucked it past Keylor Navas.

52 min GOAL! BARCELONA 2-1 REAL MADRID (LIONEL MESSI)

50 min Rakitic appeared to be fouled on the edge of the Madrid box but the referee was having none of it. Madrid not truly been able to make their man advantage count for much in the opening five minutes of the second half.

48 min Madrid without their star man for this second half, but they do have a man advantage. Marcelo steals the ball off a crowded out Andres Iniesta and charges towards the opposition box, only to send his shot high and wide from 18 yards.

46 min  RESTART! We are back up and running at Camp Nou, where both managers have made a change in personnel. Nelson Semedo was always likely to be introduced, taking over from Philippe Coutinho, while there is a big blow for Madrid as Ronaldo has been replaced by Asensio.

Five yellow cards, a red card and a goal apiece - there may not be a great deal riding on this final El Clasico of the season other than pride, but it has certainly been a lively affair. Luis Suarez opened the scoring 10 minutes in, before Cristiano Ronaldo levelled things up.


45+3 min HALF TIME: BARCELONA 1-1 REAL MADRID

45+1 min RED CARD! Well this match has been out of control for some time now. Bale somehow gets away with raking his boot down Umtiti's legs on the touchline. A minute later Sergi Roberto appeared to slap Marcelo following a shoulder-barge.

44 min YELLOW CARDS! More handbags here as Sergio Ramos and Luis Suarez have just come face-to-face. The referee decides to caution both players, as well as Lionel Messi, meaning that five players are now on yellows.

42 min A good chance for Lionel Messi goes begging due to the work of Keylor Navas, who got a hand to the ball before the Barca forward could cleanly round him. It has been an entertaining first half at Camp Nou, and there are still a few minutes to go.

40 min Seen plenty from Bale in a defensive sense this evening but not a lot in attack - clearly a tactic from Zidane. Has to be said, the Frenchman's ploy is working well at the moment because Madrid look the more likely to score the next goal.

38 min CLOSE! Madrid certainly not afraid to get crosses into the box, this time finding Cristiano Ronaldo. The forward had a lot to do, though, surrounded by opposition players and a fair way out, and his looped header ended on the roof of the net.

36 min Madrid are still the side probing away and looking the more likely to score in what is a complete contrast to the opening quarter of the match. Marcelo's latest whipped cross from the left is again overhit and Cristiano Ronaldo can only watch it sail over his head.

34 min If Barca were the better side for the first 20 minutes or so, Madrid have had the better of things since then. A cross into the box is slightly overhit and Cristiano Ronaldo is unable to get to it. Zidane will be delighted by his side's response.

32 min Jordi Alba can consider himself fortunate to still be on the field - he just grabbed Luka Modric by the neck. Can only assume that the referee did not have a clear view of that because the Barca defender escaped without even getting a yellow.

30 min YELLOW CARD! Raphael Varane joins Nacho in the referee's book after fouling Luis Suarez. An evenly-balanced match over the past seven or eight minutes in the Catalan capital, and the scoreline reflects that.

28 min CHANCE! It is rare for Ronaldo to miss one chance in a game, never mind two in quick succession. The Portuguese gets in behind once again - I did warn that would happen a little earlier - but shoots right across the goal.

26 min SAVE! Momentum is shifting here - Madrid now starting to see more of the ball, with Toni Kroos sending a shot over the bar. Cristiano Ronaldo then played through but Ter Stegen raced out and stopped the Portuguese from the one-on-one.

24 min CLOSE! Better from Madrid over the past couple of minutes, getting bodies high up the field. Marcelo's cross was initially cleared away, but once it came back in from the opposite side Cristiano Ronaldo got his head to it first and headed over.

22 min Valverde will be happy with his side's performance in the opening quarter of the match. They look composed on the ball and are probing away around the opposition box, with Jordi Alba smashing a volley over the crossbar from a difficult chance.

20 min The two Barca full-backs are having some joy high up the field. Barcelona have looked the more threatening side throughout, yet we are locked at 1-1 thanks to that Cristiano Ronaldo equaliser somewhat against the run of play.

18 min Ronaldo picked up an injury when scoring that goal and is still limping around a little. Just a couple of serious attempts on target at Camp Nou with nearly a quarter of the match played, and already we have a couple of goals.

16 min This fixture never disappoints, does it?! Barca have been on top throughout and had a penalty appeal turned down a couple of minutes ago, but all of a sudden it is tied at 1-1 here. Toni Kroos's cross was headed back across goal by Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo was not going to miss from two yards.

15 min GOAL! BARCELONA 1-1 REAL MADRID (CRISTIANO RONALDO)

14 min Madrid's defenders unable to really deal with Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi early on, being pulled one way and the other. Nacho clatters into Suarez and is the first player to be booked this evening, as Barca push on for a second goal.

12 min A killer finish from Luis Suarez to open the scoring at Camp Nou! Credit to Sergi Roberto, who got his head up down the right and sent in a perfect delivery for Suarez to volley past Keylor Navas from eight yards.

11 min GOAL! BARCELONA 1-0 REAL MADRID (LUIS SUAREZ)

9 min A worrying sign for Barcelona, as Ronaldo was just played through in acres of space. The offside flag went up on this occasion - and that was the right call - but the home side cannot afford to drop that deep when Ronaldo is in the opposition side.

7 min The hosts certainly looking the brighter of the two sides, but Madrid have just put together a rare attack that saw Marc-Andre ter Stegen pluck Cristiano Ronaldo's ball out of the air, with Gareth Bale in a good position.

5 min BLOCK! First chance of the evening falls the way of Barca, with the ball being slipped through for Luis Suarez to get a shot away. A fine block from Raphael Varane eight yards out prevented the ball from reaching the target.

3 min Barcelona seeing a lot more of the ball in the opening stages, almost getting in behind through Alba but Nacho was up to the task. All 11 Madrid players are back behind the ball at the moment, trying to keep space to a minimum.

1 min KICKOFF! We are up and running in this 238th El Clasico showdown, and the fourth of the 2017-18 campaign. Barcelona aiming to keep their unbeaten season going; Real Madrid need points to close the gap on Atletico Madrid.