Barcelona 1-2 Real Madrid: El Clasico 2015-16 - As it happened

That is all from IBTimes UK for now, but join us again tomorrow as we provide comprehensive over-by-over updates from the ICC World Twenty20 2016 final between England and the West Indies in Kolkata.

We will also bring you more live coverage of the Premier League as Leicester look to extend their lead to seven points against Southampton at the King Power Stadium and Manchester United take on Everton.

Until then, goodnight.

The Champions League quarter-finals take centre stage now for both of these teams, with Real travelling to Wolfsburg on Wednesday before hosting Eibar in La Liga next weekend.

Barcelona entertain Atletico in Europe on Tuesday and then travel to Real Sociedad next weekend.

So Barcelona's 39-match unbeaten streak finally comes to an end at the hands of their fiercest rivals. The game eventually burst into life after a sluggish start and it's hard to argue that Real did not deserve all three points as they pushed on in search of a winner despite Ramos' brainless red card.

Third-place Real now trail the leaders by seven points and are just one adrift of Diego Simeone's Atletico in second.

Full-time

Barcelona 1-2 Real Madrid

After more unsavoury shenanigans between Pepe and Suarez, Zidane brings on Vasquez for Bale.

Two minutes of added time for Barcelona to find an equaliser.

Late drama at the Nou Camp as Real defy their numerical disadvantage to take the lead. Carvajal steams forward and Jese helps the ball out to Bale, who stands up a cross to the back post.

Alves gets caught underneath it and that allows Ronaldo to take a touch on his chest before finishing his 16th clasico goal with aplomb.

Will that prove to be the winner?

Goal: Barcelona 1-2 Real Madrid (Cristiano Ronaldo)

It wouldn't be a clasico without a red card now, would it? Ramos, who could have been booked three times already, continues to push his luck and finally collects a second yellow for a needlessly reckless tackle on Suarez. That's the 21st sending off of his career and a fourth against Barcelona.

Red card: Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid)

Real are definitely in the ascendancy now. Ronaldo rattles the crossbar with a lovely strike before Bale gets ahead of Alba again before being thwarted by Bravo.

Incredibly harsh officiating denies Real the lead after Bale heads home Ronaldo's cross at the back post and runs off in celebration before the assistant rules that he was climbing on Alba. There was nothing wrong with that.

Superb defending from Mascherano as his sliding block stops Ronaldo in his tracks. That leads to a swift Barcelona counter attack that ends with Messi setting up Suarez to curl a half-volley wide.

A Real attack breaks down as Kroos is whistled for handball. Zidane then makes his first change, withdrawing goal-scorer Benzema and introducing Jese.

A rogue pass from Benzema almost lets in Suarez, but Pepe gets across to make an important tackle.

The first substitution of the night sees Rakitic replaced by Turan.

Suarez looks to get his latest effort on target, only for a committed block from Casemiro to deflect the ball off Neymar and out for a goal kick. 20 minutes left to play.

More confidence from Real now as Benzema burrows forward before teeing up Bale to shoot straight at Bravo.

Now we really have a game on our hands. Zidane has changed very little since that Pique opener and he is rewarded for his patience as Marcelo drives at the heart of Barcelona's defence.

He knocks the ball wide to Toni Kroos, whose low cross skips up off Alba before being acrobatically finished by the otherwise quiet Benzema. That's his 21st La Liga goal of the season.

Goal: Barcelona 1-1 Real Madrid (Karim Benzema)

Rakitic is cautioned for a sliding challenge on Marcelo.

At last the deadlock is broken as Pique loses his marker Pepe through a crowd of bodies before heading Rakitic's corner beyond Navas and in. Advantage Barcelona.

Goal: Barcelona 1-0 Real Madrid (Gerard Pique)

Great determination from Suarez and Neymar to keep battling away and launch another Barca attack. The ball ends up at the feet of Messi, who is surrounded by white shirts but still manages to scoop an inventive effort that Navas is forced to push wide.

Real pour forward for the first time since the break through Benzema. They end up winning a corner and Alves rolls around clutching his face in an apparent agony after being caught by a stray arm from Ramos.

Modric then tries his luck with a long-range shot that is deflected into the hands of Bravo.

Barcelona have started this half on the front foot, but at the moment they are struggling to break down a resilient rearguard with two midfielders sitting in front of the back four.

To say Ramos is walking a disciplinary tightrope at the moment would be something of an understatement. Again he evades a second booking despite bringing down Suarez from behind.

Messi's free-kick flies over.

The second half has begun. Are we in for the first goalless draw between these two rivals since 2002?

Certainly not the end-to-end, all-action encounter that many had hoped for. Suarez wasted an ideal opportunity early on, while Ramos can count himself lucky not to have been shown a second yellow card for a clear foul on Messi that could have also led to a penalty.

Half-time

Barcelona 0-0 Real Madrid

A Real corner ends in Ramos giving away a free-kick for a perceived high boot on Rakitic. The defender looks to have hurt his ankle in that altercation.

One minute of added time signalled as Rakitic shoots harmlessly wide.

Neymar's chipped cross fails to find its intended target. The ball falls to Alves, who flashes a fierce effort over Navas' crossbar.

Real then come forward through Carvajal and Benzema shouts in frustration after shooting miles over from near the penalty spot.

Alba looks to create a goal-scoring opportunity down the left hand-side of the penalty area before being whistled for pulling Ronaldo's shirt. An animated Enrique chastises the fourth official again.

Casemiro is back on his feet. Bale launches another long throw into the Barca box but it is headed away firmly at the near post.

Casemiro, after a collision with Messi, is down on the turf rubbing his knee in some discomfort.

Still goalless in an unusually tense and rather tepid clasico.

Marcelo finds a lot of space in midfield and feeds Ronaldo, who beats his marker before pulling the ball back toward Bale. Barcelona clear.

Busquets is looking extremely assured for the hosts, as usual.

Javier Mascherano is the latest man in the book for bringing down Bale. Ronaldo steps up to dispatch a dipping free-kick over the top. 15 minutes plus stoppage time remaining in the first half.

The typical clasico histrionics are in full swing and, not for the first time, it's Pepe at the centre of things as he goes down theatrically after being caught by the arm of Suarez. Yellow card for the Barcelona striker.

Anger and disbelief from the stands as Messi is denied a penalty after being tripped by Ramos, who has already been booked, on the edge of the box. That certainly looked a foul, although it may have been just outside.

Ronaldo forces a save from Bravo but Pique stands firm against Benzema and Bale lashes over.

Bale channels his inner Dave Challinor with a monster throw that is unconvincingly claimed by Bravo.

Good pressure from Barcelona inside the opening 20 minutes. After an incisive break, Pepe's attempted clearance falls only as far as Rakitic and the Croatian international forces a smart low save from Keylor Navas.

Carvajal could have been booked twice there for ill-judged fouls on Iniesta and Suarez. He eventually sees yellow and Messi floats a free-kick just over the crossbar.

Bale works his way to the byline, but Bravo can collect. At the other end, Iniesta's powerful drive is well blocked by Real skipper Ramos.

With 14 minutes on the clock, supporters rise once again to remember Johan Cruyff.

It didn't take long for the first caution of the evening to be shown by referee Alejandro Hernandez. Ramos, who is certainly no stranger to a card or two, is yellow carded for his protests for what he clearly felt was a foul by Suarez in the build-up to that chance.

Barcelona spurn a glorious chance to take the lead. After a long punt forward from goalkeeper Claudio Bravo, Suarez, who looked well offside, shifts Ramos aside before being teed up perfectly in the box by Neymar. For once, the Uruguayan fails to finish.

No chances to speak of just yet as Ronaldo wins a free-kick following a barge from Alves. Bale is caught offside once more as he looks to latch on to a searching Sergio Ramos pass. He's not happy with the referee's assistant.

Suarez and then Bale caught offside in quick succession as both teams seek to seize the early initiative. Busquets and Pepe are fine to continue.

Sergio Busquets comes off worse following a typically robust challenge from Pepe. Suarez is stopped in his tracks as both men require treatment.

We are underway in the clasico. Barcelona are kicking from left to right, with both sides wearing their iconic home strips. Let's hope this is an occasion to remember.

The respective teams emerge from the tunnel to that stunning mosaic in tribute to Cruyff. There will now be a minute's silence.

Johan's son Jordi is a guest of honour tonight.

The calm before the storm...

One or two famous faces in attendance at the Nou Camp tonight, as you might expect for a fixture of this magnitude. Jude Law, anyone?

Let's run through the other results in La Liga while we wait for tonight's spectacle to commence. Javi Guerra and Miku both scored last night as Rayo Vallecano beat Getafe 2-0 in a fiery meeting despite being reduced to 10 men when Yoel was dismissed.

At the Vicente Calderon earlier today, second-place Atletico temporarily reduced Barcelona's lead at the summit to six points with a thumping 5-1 win over Real Betis. Fernando Torres, Antoine Griezmann, Juanfran and Thomas Partey all scored for Diego Simeone's side. Ruben Castro grabbed a consolation for the visitors.

Valencia began life post-Gary Neville with a 2-1 loss at Las Palmas. Rodrigo gave Los Che an early lead in Gran Canaria, but Jonathan Viera levelled the scores from the penalty spot after half-time before an own goal from Shkodran Mustafi.

Celta Vigo host Deportivo in a Galician derby later. Tomorrow, Athletic meet Granada, Malaga face Espanyol, Eibar play Villarreal and Real Sociedad travel to Sevilla. Monday night's fixture sees Levante take on Sporting Gijon.

Both side's heavyweights are all present and correct. Suarez, Neymar and Lionel Messi lead the line for Barcelona, while Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo spearhead Real's attack.

Real, who beat Sevilla 4-0 in their last outing, have Pepe and Sergio Ramos back in the heart of defence. Varane misses out and Nacho is on the bench. Dani Carvajal is also chosen ahead of Danilo at right-back.

Barcelona make two changes from the side that drew 2-2 with Villarreal before the international break. Alves is back in the starting XI at the expense of Sergi Roberto, while Iniesta captains the team in his 33rd clasico after replacing Arda Turan. Rafinha is among the substitutes.

Real Madrid: Navas, Carvajal, Pepe, Sergio Ramos, Marcelo, Casemiro, Kroos, Modric, Bale, Benzema, Ronaldo

Subs: Casilla, Nacho, Danilo, Isco, Vasquez, James, Jese

Barcelona: Bravo, Alves, Pique, Mascherano, Alba, Rakitic, Busquets, Iniesta, Messi, Neymar, Suarez

Subs: Ter Stegen, Vermaelen, Bartra, Rafinha, Sergi Roberto, Turan, Munir

Confirmed line-ups to come very shortly...

Another French defender ruled out of tonight's proceedings is Real's Raphael Varane, who has been suffering with a soleus calf muscle problem over recent days. Alvaro Arbeloa and Mateo Kovacic did not make the cut.

In terms of injury news, Barcelona are still without Sandro and Adriano tonight. Jeremy Mathieu, meanwhile, is set to miss up to two months after undergoing surgery to repair a torn meniscus he suffered just nine minutes into a substitute appearance during France's 4-2 win over Russia in Paris on Tuesday.

Rafinha is available for selection for the first time since tearing his anterior cruciate ligament in a Champions League draw with Roma six months ago. Aleix Vidal, Douglas and goalkeeper Jordi Masip have all been omitted from Luis Enrique's 18-man squad ahead of the clasico.

Tonight's match takes on an extra significance for Barcelona as it is their first since influential club icon Johan Cruyff, who won the La Liga title at the Nou Camp as a player before delivering four league crowns and the Blaugrana's maiden European Cup during a highly successful eight-year stint as manager, sadly passed away after a battle with lung cancer on 24 March.

The players will pay tribute to the legendary Dutchman with a "Gracies Johan" message embroidered on their shirts. The 90,000 supporters inside the ground will also form a mosaic before kick-off.

The last meeting between these two sides was certainly an occasion to forget for Real, then managed by Rafael Benitez, who were dominated on home turf as a brace from Luis Suarez and additional goals from Neymar and Andres Iniesta secured a 4-0 win for Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabeu. Isco was also sent off six minutes from time for a rash challenge.

Currently sitting third and 10 points off the pace, Zinedine Zidane's Real know they have to win tonight to keep their faint title hopes alive with only eight matches left to play this term.

Besting this formidable Barcelona side is easier said than done, however. Spearheaded by their sensational 'MSN' attacking trio, the leaders have put together a sensational 39-match unbeaten streak that has also seen them ease into the quarter-finals of the Champions League and the final of the Copa del Rey.

Their last loss in any competition was a 2-1 defeat at Sevilla on 3 October 2015.

Millions of people across the globe will have their eyes firmly fixed upon the Nou Camp tonight as football's biggest and most prestigious rivals lock horns once again in the eagerly anticipated second El Clasico derby of the season.

Kick-off in Catalonia is set for 19.30 BST and IBTimes UK will be providing live updates in addition to previews, team news and confirmed line-ups. Let's get this show on the road...