Lionel Messi Ruins Toni Kroos With Sublime Footwork In One-On-One Battle During El Clasico

Barcelona captain Lionel Messi destroyed Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos with a sublime piece of skill during a one-on-one duel during El Clasico.

Madrid secured the ultimate bragging rights over fierce rivals Barcelona on Saturday with a 2-1 victory at the Alfredo Di Stefano Stadium.

Karim Benzema opened the scoring for Madrid with an audacious backheel finish before Kroos doubled his side's advantage before half-time.

Oscar Mingueza pulled one back for Barcelona in the second half, but Madrid managed to hold on and secure all three points in El Clasico.

While Messi failed to score during El Clasico, he did humiliate Kroos during a one-on-one battle.

Kroos went out to meet Messi and tried his best to relieve the 33-year-old Argentine superstar of the ball.

But the 31-year-old German midfielder was in for a rude awakening as Messi danced past him when he lunged in for a tackle.

Barcelona were controversially denied a penalty late on after footage showed that Ferland Mendy pulled Martin Braithwaite's shirt.

Messi was furious over the decision to deny Barcelona a penalty and was involved in a heated argument with referee Gil Manzano.

Madrid midfielder Casemiro also divided fans as he was spotted laughing and smiling at the Barcelona bench after he was sent off late on.

Los Blancos are second in La Liga and are one point behind rivals Atletico Madrid in the title race.

Barcelona, meanwhile, are third and are one point behind Madrid and two points behind Atletico.

Zinedine Zidane's men will now resume their Champions League campaign on Wednesday as they travel to Anfield for their second-leg quarter-final clash.

Barcelona won't return to action until Saturday when they face Athletic Bilbao in the Copa del Rey final at the Estadio La Cartuja.