The Catalan club now has a 12-point lead over runners-up Madrid with 12 games remaining.
Barcelona took a big step towards winning their first league title since 2019 after coming from behind to beat Madrid 2-1.
Franck Kessie scored an injury-time winner to help the Catalan club take a 12-point lead over runners-up Madrid at the top of the league with 12 games remaining.
Barcelona were saved by VAR for the second consecutive game, as Madrid had a Marco Asensio goal disallowed in the 81st minute for offside.
“We are still not sure it was offside,” Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said of Asensio’s goal. “It didn’t look like 100 percent offside. With that doubt we go back to Madrid.”
Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema shoots for goal (Nacho Doce/Reuters)
However, Barcelona coach Xavi said he was “surprised” by the Madrid coach’s comments. “It’s obvious, offside is obvious, it’s scientific, isn’t it?” Xavi told reporters. “Without VAR, everything is more difficult. In the end it gets fairer, especially with offside.”
Barcelona won eight league titles in 11 seasons through 2019. They finished second to Madrid in 2020, then third – behind Real Madrid and champions Atletico Madrid – in 2021, and again second to Madrid last season, the first after Lionel’s departure Messi.
Barcelona is aiming for a 27th league title, which would leave it eight behind Madrid.