Goals from Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi and Alex Vidal wrapped up a comfortable 3-0 win for Barcelona against Real Madrid in the El Clasico.

Second-half goals from Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi and Aleix Vidal gave the Catalans a club-record third win in a row in a league match at the home of their fierce rivals and saw them move nine points clear of Atletico Madrid at the top of the table.

Zinedine Zidane’s reigning champions, who had Dani Carvajal sent off for a deliberate handball just before Messi’s strike from the penalty spot, are now 14 points adrift of the leaders and, despite having played a game less, their title hopes appear to have been dealt a crushing blow.

Madrid trounced Barca in the Supercopa de Espana in August but the latter have gone unbeaten since that two-legged tie in all competitions, and they seemed happy to frustrate the home side in the first half in the knowledge that the onus was on Madrid to chase the win.

-This story originally appeared on FourFourTwo.co.za