Luis Suarez put the Blaugrana in front but they were denied a precious victory late on as Zinedine Zidane’s men maintained their six-point lead over their rivals in La Liga
A 90th-minute header from Sergio Ramos saw Real Madrid snatch a 1-1 draw against Barcelona to retain their six-point lead at the top of La Liga after a lacklustre Clasico.
The Spain centre-back turned in a brilliant free-kick from Luka Modric to cancel out Luis Suarez’s opener and stretch Madrid’s unbeaten run to 33 matches in all competitions.
Suarez nodded in Neymar’s free-kick shortly after half-time to put Barca ahead in a cagey contest at Camp Nou, and the home side spurned a number of opportunities to double their advantage before Ramos struck.
Zinedine Zidane’s side claimed a 2-1 victory on the same ground last season and looked the more dangerous in a scrappy first half, with Cristiano Ronaldo twice denied by Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Javier Mascherano fortunate not to concede a penalty for a foul on Lucas Vazquez.
In a game in which opportunities were at a premium, Barca eventually found a breakthrough with a simple set-piece, although they were arguably a little fortunate that referee Carlos Clos Gomez did not penalise Suarez for a push in the build-up.
Confidence around Camp Nou had been shaky given Barca’s dreadful showing in the draw with Real Sociedad last week, but the crowd made their approval clear as the home side began to control proceedings shortly after Andres Iniesta came off the bench for his first appearance since October.
Neymar and Lionel Messi both missed clear chances to settle the contest and the champions were punished when Ramos – thrown forward as an auxiliary striker late on – salvaged a draw to keep Madrid unbeaten in the league and firmly in control of the title race.
A typically feisty start culminated in a strong shout for a penalty from Madrid being waved away, after Mascherano had bundled over Lucas just inside the area.