Sergio Ramos responded to Gerard Piqué's criticism of Real Madrid by saying he would quite happily win every Clásico playing as badly as the Barcelona defender suggested. Vinicius and Mariano scored second-half goals as Madrid moved above Barça and into top spot in LaLiga with a 2-0 win on Sunday.

But the performance did little to impress Piqué as the Barca defender said the hosts in the first half were "the worst Madrid" he has faced at the Bernabéu. Madrid captain Ramos said he wouldn't mind winning every Clásico in excatly the same way the team did on Sunday.

Madrid stepped up when Barcelona began to tire

"Everyone's entitled to their opinion. I would gladly take winning every Clásico by playing a first half as bad as he says," the captain told reporters. "The approach was different. In the first half, we allowed them to have the ball and in the second we decided to up our game. They were not so fresh and we started to create chances."

With 12 LaLiga games remaining, Madrid hold a one-point lead over their rivals, having lost just two league matches this season. While pleased with the advantage, Ramos urged his side to remain focused for the rest of the campaign.

Full screen Rodrigo Jiménez (EFE)

36 points left in play in LaLiga

"After our recent results we wanted to reclaim top spot and what better way to do that than at home and against a great team like Barça," the defender said. "It's a unique opportunity for us to depend entirely on ourselves. There are three important points but there is a lot left to play for. We must keep our feet on the ground."