MADRID Jason Kidd Jersey , April 3 (Xinhua) -- Real Madrid defeated FC Barcelona 2-1 in the Clasico in the Camp Nou Stadium on Saturday night.
Barca took the lead in on what was an emotional but disappointing game in terms of football, early in the second half with a Gerard Pique header, but Karim Benzema equalized shortly after the hour after good work from man of the match, Marcelo and Tony Kroos.
With Barca looking uncharacteristically slow and flat in a game meant to be a homage to club legend Jalen Brunson Jersey , Johan Cruyff, Madrid were able to wait for errors and look to hit them on the break and were rewarded six minutes from time when Ronaldo was given time to control Bale's cross before scoring with a right foot volley to end Barca's record 39-game unbeaten run.
Atletico Madrid ensured they remain second and move to within six points of Barca with a very comfortable 5-1 win at home to Betis.
Fernando Torres opened the scoring in the 36th minute before Antoine Griezmann scored twice and right back Juanfran got his first goal in three years, while Thomas Teye added to his reputation as Atletico coach Diego Simeone rested key players in the second half ahead of Tuesday night's Champions League quarter-final in Barcelona.
Villarreal came back from a goal down to win 2-1 away to Eibar and strengthen their grip on fourth place in the table.
Ander Capa put Eibar ahead after 22 minutes and the home side were dominating proceedings under Adrian Lopez tapped home a simple equalizer 10 minutes from half time and a controversial goal from Roberto Soldado, who looked to be offside Doug McDermott Jersey , gave the points to Marcelino Garcia's side.
Athletic Club Bilbao took the lead though Inigo Lekue and hit the woodwork three times with Aritz Aduriz missing a penalty but could only draw 1-1 at home to Granada who rode their luck and scored with their only shot on target 12 minutes from time through young striker Adalberto Penaranda to take a vital point in their battle against relegation.
Markel Bergara put Real Sociedad ahead after just 2 minutes as Real Sociedad ended Sevilla's impressive run of 17 consecutive home wins with a 2-1 defeat.
Grzegorz Krychoviak netted an own goal to double Real Sociedad's lead before the break. A Kevin Gameiro penalty brought Sevilla back into the game and after Bergara was sent off with 22 minutes remaining the home side laid siege to the Real goal, but it was not to be.
Pepe Diop scored his second header in two games to help Espanyol to a point away to Malaga who took a point thanks to Duje Cop's penalty on the stroke of halftime.
Valencia sacked Gary Neville as first team coach on Wednesday, but his replacement Pako Ayestaran wasn't able to change their fortunes as they lost 2-1 away to Las Palmas.
Rodrigo put Valencia ahead after just three minutes but second half goals from Jonathan Viera (a former Valencia player) and an own goal from Shkrodan Mustafi after 63 minutes just about ensured Las Palmas' survival, while dropping Valencia into the relegation dogfight.
Finally the Galicia derby between Celta Vigo and Deportivo la Coruna ended in a 1-1 draw. Borges put Deportivo ahead after 21 minutes and Nolito equalized for Celta nine minutes later.
Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal and Antoine Griezmann's France booked spots at the 2018 World Cup finals on Tuesday while the Netherlands crashed out.
Portugal beat Switzerland 2-0 in Lisbon thanks to a Johan Djourou own goal and an Andre Silva strike.
France needed goals from Griezmann and Olivier Giroud in a hard-fought 2-1 win over Belarus at the Stade de France.
After a stuttering campaign DeAndre Jordan Mavericks Jersey , France's achievement in beating Bulgaria and Belarus in their final two qualifiers means they avoid the playoffs having had to go through that route for the last two finals.
"We have had a difficult route and tonight wasn't easy either but we've achieved our aim," coach Didier Deschamps said. "We are happy, even if qualifying is logical given the quality of the players I have."
The Dutch, World Cup finalists in South Africa in 2010 and semifinalists four years later Dirk Nowitzki Mavericks Jersey , bowed to the inevitable as they failed to achieve the unlikely 7-0 scoreline over Sweden they needed to salvage a wretched qualifying effort.
Arjen Robben scored twice in a 2-0 win over the Swedes in Amsterdam and said afterward he was retiring from international soccer.
"I will always remember the 2010 and 2014 World Cups. Those are my best memories. During those two competitions we formed a real team," the 33-year-old Robben said.
In Lisbon, Portugal navigated a potentially fraught final fixture with Switzerland, who become one of the eight European nations who must fight through the playoffs for a spot in Russia.
The Swiss can consider themselves unlucky after winning all nine previous qualifiers but must now overcome a two-legged playoff in November to earn a fourth straight World Cup appearance.
Ronaldo, who was injured for the opening qualifying defeat in Basel, returned to the Portuguese lineup after coming off the bench to notch the opening goal in a lackluster 2-0 win in Andorra on Saturday.
US pop star Madonna was among the crowd at the Estadio da Luz which erupted when Djourou inadvertently bundled in a dangerous cross from Eliseu four minutes before the break under heavy pressure from Joao Mario.
Manchester City midfielder Bernardo Silva then exchanged passes with former Monaco teammate Joao Moutinho, threading through the return pass for an unmarked Andre Silva to poke in at the far post.
"We've never pretended to be the best in the world Harrison Barnes Mavericks Jersey , but we're capable of going head to head against any opponents," Portugal coach Fernando Santos said.
Greece locked up second place behind Belgium in Group H courtesy of a 4-0 stroll against Gibraltar.