Luis Suarez stunner gives Barcelona 2-1 win over Real Madrid

Luis Suarez scored the winning goal to give Barcelona a 2-1 win over title rival Real Madrid on Sunday in a back-and-forth “clasico” between the Spanish league’s main title rivals. Suarez broke free from Madrid’s defense to restore Barcelona’s lead in the 56th minute, ensuring Barcelona opened up a four-point gap over Madrid with another 10 rounds remaining to decide the league crown. “That was my most important goal I have scored for Barcelona, and it has an extra significance considering the opponent,” Suarez said.

Lionel Messi curled in a perfect free kick for Jeremy Mathieu to head in Barcelona’s opener in the 19th minute of a first half otherwise dominated by Madrid. Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo, who had hit the woodwork before Barcelona’s goal, leveled from Karim Benzema’s superb backheel pass in the 31st — shortly after Neymar had missed a great chance to double the host’s lead. But after Suarez struck from Dani Alves’ long ball, Messi and Neymar both went close to adding goals in a second half dictated by the Catalan side.

“We played well for the first hour, but the last half hour was terrible,” Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said. “It is a blow. Barcelona has an advantage, but we won’t give up.”

While Ronaldo and Benzema outplayed their counterparts in the first half, the hosts never looked back after Suarez scored his 14th and by far most important goal since joining Barcelona from Liverpool this summer.

There were no surprises in the starting lineups. Javier Mascherano was in Barcelona’s midfield for Sergio Busquets, who stayed on the bench until late. That let Mathieu start in defense, and he responded in fine fashion with a goal.

Benzema started his excellent performance when he almost caught Barcelona waiting for an offsides call that never came as he spotted Ronaldo asking for a cross. Ronaldo’s volley from a tight angle rattled the upright, and was a warning of what was to come.

Barcelona continually went at Madrid right back Dani Carvajal through Neymar, but the Brazil striker had several miscues in his passing. Messi, meanwhile, wasn’t much more effective on the right side of Barcelona’s attack, and Suarez was kept in check by the more physical Pepe.

Messi did succeed in assisting on Barcelona’s opener when he curled in a free kick for Mathieu to head past goalie Iker Casillas before Sergio Ramos could recover his position. But Madrid never blinked and soon turned the flow of the match back in its favor. Ronaldo leveled on an attack after Neymar wasted a great opportunity when he redirected Suarez’s hard strike into Casillas arms.Seconds later, Benzema’s great no-look backheeled flick set up the Ballon d’Or winner, who used the tip of his right boot to stab a shot under goalie Claudio Bravo. Ronaldo, who was booed every time he touched the ball, drew added ire from the crowd when he gestured for them to “calm down” after his goal. Ronaldo’s 31st league goal left him one shy of Messi’s competition-high tally of 32. The first half ended with the rare sight of Barcelona struggling to hold the ball as Madrid’s pressure almost gave it the lead before halftime. Ronaldo drew a save from Bravo with a blistering strike, and Gareth Bale made his only contribution when he went close from the resulting corner kick two minutes before halftime. Madrid appeared to have picked right back up after the break, as Benzema led a counterattack that ended with him testing Bravo in the 47th. But that was when Suarez, Messi and Neymar finally got going. Suarez put Barcelona back in front for good when he controlled Dani Alves’ long pass to beat Madrid’s offside trap with one touch and then slotted a precise strike beyond Casillas and inside the far post as he fell to his knees. “Very few players can score a goal like he did, and that is why we signed him,” Barcelona coach Luis Enrique said about Suarez. “He can decide games. He is pure scorer, who needs very little to finish. But he also combines well and understands his teammates.” This time Madrid did wither, as it was slowed by tired legs and hampered by bookings. Madrid ended with five yellow cards, to Barcelona’s four.

Neymar mustered two spectacular solo runs through Madrid’s midfield and back line, only to blast the ball high in the 68th and hit a defender three minutes later. It was then Messi’s turn to flash a shot just by the upright before he set up Neymar, who again fired wide in the 74th. Elsewhere, Sevilla beat Villarreal for the third time in 11 days to stay in striking distance of the top four teams with a 2-0 win. Real Sociedad rallied for a 3-1 won over bottom-side Cordoba, while Deportivo La Coruna’s winless run reached six games after drawing 0-0 at home with Espanyol.

World Cup 2015: Against Australia, India will need Shami more than ever

Tell Mohammad Shami that it has been a batsman-dominated World Cup and he just might break into uncontrollable laughter.

Tell India that bowlers in general have been taken to the cleaners by the batsmen in this tournament and they will echo Shami's sentiment.

Coming into the tournament, we thought, India's bowling was a worry but in seven matches, India have taken 70 wickets -- a first for them. 25 of those wickets have fallen to the short ball and at the forefront of this charge has been Mohammad Shami.

The right-arm fast bowler has consistently bowled in the 140s and his haul of 17 wickets at 13.29 has played a big role in India's splendid tournament. He further chips in with an economy of 4.43 -- which clearly shows that even when he isn't taking wickets, he is still keeping the batsmen in check.

As brilliant as India's run with the bat has been, Shami has truly been a standout performer. And at this point, we can't help but wonder whether this India bowling attack has ever been under some serious match stress. The wins have been comprehensive -- but when Ireland attacked... when Zimbabwe attacked, India really had no answer.

But even through all of that, Shami has been incredibly consistent to get 17 wickets -- he got taken to the cleaners... in the Tests and even though he was getting wickets, he was still leaking runs. His line and length was all over the place. But his reinvention in ODIs has left everyone spellbound.

It began with the tri-series and has continued into the World Cup.

8.1-0-44-1 vs Australia, Jan 18

Good length 15 balls to righties, 12 runs; 15 balls to lefties -- all over the place. Full, good, short of good, short. Impressive? Not really. He seemed to be continuing from where he left off in the Tests.

4-0-23-0 vs England, Jan 20

India got bowled out for a small target. The bowlers didn't have much to do. Shami, though, was excessively short. 10 short balls and 6 short of good length balls in a 24-ball spell.

9-0-31-1 vs England, Jan 30

He took the new ball behind Stuart Binny (3-33). But Shami finally started to get some consistency -- 17 good length balls, 7 short of good length and 9 full deliveries to the righties -- all just outside the off-stump.

9-1-35-4 vs Pakistan, Feb 15

The short ball did the trick for him here... Three wickets came off short balls, 9 balls at a good length. A pitch map reveals that he was all over the place but he had pace and the Pakistan batsmen were still no acclimatised.

8-1-30-2 vs SA, Feb 22

This was probably his best spell -- against a side that knows how to play fast bowling. 15 balls at a good length, nothing short of good length and good use of the short ball.

8-2-35-3 vs West Indies, March 6

The dot ball percentage was high at 69 percent. He sent the openers back early. Kept his line outside the off-stump (21 balls, including 9 short balls). They were working on a plan and it worked.

9-0-41-3 vs Ireland, March 10

Umesh Yadav got thumped all over the park (4-0-34-0) as did Mohit Sharma (6-0-38-1) but Shami was once again brilliant. His consistency has been his biggest asset. 22 balls on off-stump, another 5 outside the off-stump. Just 2 balls down leg-stump. This was a solid exhibition of controlled bowling.

9-2-48-3 vs Zimbabwe, March 14

He got the wickets but his control over line and length was weak. Brendan Taylor played a classic knock and India's bowling just had a poor day. The spinners were carted all over the park. Probably the first time in the tournament they were put under sustained pressure. There were some visible cracks.

8-1-37-2 vs Bangladesh, March 19

Five fours were hit off Shami but he got vital wickets and the key for him was once again the short ball -- he got both wickets with it. The control though seemed to be going away a little.

Against Australia, though, this 'short ball' strategy that has worked so well for Shami won't be as easy to execute.

India had the acclimatisation advantage over every opponent they faced in the World Cup. They have been in Australia since November and it is helping the batsmen and the bowlers. But this advantage counts for nothing against the hosts Australia.

They play the short ball well and you have to get it right to make an impact. The strike-rate of the Australian batsmen against India is pretty high: Faulkner (148), Maxwell (145), Watson (98), Warner (92), Johnson (89), Clarke (84) and Finch (83). This is a line-up that will attack (as we saw in the practice match when Shami was carted for 83 runs in 9.3 overs) and they bat deep as well.

That is why Shami will have to raise his game. Wahab Riaz's spell might convince everyone to go after the Aussies with the short ball but not everyone has that kind of pace and accuracy. Umesh Yadav struggles with his lines when hit but Shami has shown that perhaps he can pull it off. Mohit Sharma has been brilliant as first change but he will need the opening duo to make the early inroads.

If Australia get away to a quick start, it will make things difficult for India's spinners as well. Clarke, Smith and Maxwell are among the best players of spin in the world. Give them a platform and they will take Ashwin and Jadeja for a ride that neither they nor India will relish.

And once again that means Shami has to strike early. The Aussies might be surprised with what they get -- that is how big the transformation has been in his time Down Under. That will give him the initial advantage but as Dhoni has been saying, 'India's bowling needs to keep it simple, bowl to a plan and not try too many variations.'

So far, Shami has done just that. But can he retain the poise under pressure... that is a question that we'd all like him to answer in the affirmative.