Barcelona: A lethal finish from Luis Suarez gave Barcelona a 2-1 victory over Real Madrid in a typically frantic 'Clasico' on Sunday as they stretched their lead at the top of La Liga to four points over their rivals.

While the personal battle between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo captured the attention before the game it was Uruguayan Suarez who settled the contest with a deft touch and a deadly strike into the corner of the net after 55 minutes.

Barcelona went ahead against the run of play when French defender Jeremy Mathieu headed home his first league goal for the Catalan club from a Messi free-kick after 18 minutes.

Ronaldo had already hit the crossbar but he made no mistake after 30 minutes when he slotted the ball past keeper Claudio Bravo following a delightful backflick by Karim Benzema.

Real pressed forward with Gareth Bale and Benzema missing golden chances before Suarez took his opportunity.

Barca finished the stronger as they secured a significant victory in the title race that moved them on to 68 points from 28 games, four ahead of second-placed Real with 10 matches left.