Real Madrid beat Barcelona in the first El Clasico installment of the 2022-23 La Liga season played at the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday afternoon.

Barca tried to set the pace with two early chances from Frankie de Jong and Robert Lewandowski.

The hosts soon regrouped and took the lead in the 12th minute through Karim Benzema, who hit home on a rebound after Andre ter Stegen parried the ball onto his path.

Barca could have restored the parity on the mid-point of the half but Lewandowski sent his close range effort over with an open goal in front of him.

The miss proved costly as Madrid doubled their lead on the 35th minute through Federico Valverde’s low shot near the edge of the box.

De Jong tried to stir his side back into the game before the break but failed when his solo attempt was saved by the keeper.

Seven seconds into the second half, Benzema thought he had trippled the lead but his goal was ruled out for an offside.

Barca tried to recover in the following moments but only got the breakthrough deep in the game through Ferran Torres’ 83rd minute strike.

However, the goal proved to be a mere consolation as Rodrygo won a penalty from a foul and converted it to seal Los Blancos’ victory in the last minute of the match.

The result puts Real Madrid back on top with 25 points, while Barcelona move to second position with 22 points.