DHAKA: Goals from Jeremy Mathieu and Luis Suarez gave Barcelona what could be a title-deciding 2-1 win over Real Madrid in Sunday's Clasico. Here are three quick thoughts from the Camp Nou.

1. Suarez wins it for Barca

Barcelona's 80-million-euro summer signing repaid a large chunk of his transfer fee with the goal that won a potentially decisive La Liga Clasico to send his team four points clear in the title race.

Real Madrid had been the better team for long periods through the first 56 minutes at the Camp Nou, with the home crowd of 98,760 growing increasingly uncomfortable as Carlo Ancelotti's side recovered from going behind to Jeremy Mathieu's header, leveling through Cristiano Ronaldo and then beginning to dominate proceedings in midfield.

Suarez's goal changed all that. Dani Alves' excellent long pass caught Madrid centre-back Sergio Ramos out of position; the former Liverpool forward took one velvet touch to kill the ball and a second to expertly slide the ball past Iker Casillas and just inside the far corner.

It took three months for Suarez to make his blaugrana debut and another three months to really settle at the Camp Nou, but the 28-year-old has recently shown the confidence and killer instinct of his best Liverpool days. His first 20 games for Barça brought just six goals but he now has eight in his past nine games in all competitions, including the expertly taken brace at Manchester City in the Champions League, amid a feeling that he now feels at home in Catalonia.

Suarez also gave a proper centre-forward's display. Sometimes he would come deep for the ball and play with his back to goal, other times he'd spin behind the shoulder of the last defender. The first of those approaches lead to Barca's opener, as he was fouled by Pepe for the free kick that Lionel Messi hoisted in for Mathieu to nod beyond Casillas. The second tactic saw him take advantage of slack marking by Ramos to get clear on goal, where his expert finishing did the rest.

Source: espnfc.com

BDST: 0940 HRS, MAR 23, 2015