Essien plays full throttle as Real Madrid beat Barcelona again

Published on: 02 March 2013

Michael Essien played the entire duration of the match for Real Madrid in their 2-1 win Spanish La Liga derby against Barcelona.

The Ghana international started the match at right-back before moving to the middle.

Last Tuesday, he was an 83rd minute substitute in the 3-1 victory at the Camp Nou in the return leg of the Copa del Rey.

Essien is gradually establishing himself at Real Madrid.

Karim Benzema gave Los Blancos an early lead but Lionel Messi levelled just over 10 minutes later to become the joint-top scorer of all time in the Clasico.

Sergio Ramos headed in a corner to restore Madrid's lead with nine minutes remaining, and Victor Valdes was sent off on the final whistle for a second yellow card after arguing with referee Miguel Angel Perez Lasa.

Real Madrid cut the gap between them and Barcelona to 13 points with a morale boosting 2-1 win over the Catalans at the Santiago Bernabeu.

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