Real Madrid beat Barça in Clasico after Neymar gave Catalans early lead

Make that nine. After back-to-back defeats earlier this season, Real Madrid's summer transfer activity had come under scrutiny. Nine games later, and after a convincing 3-1 win over Barcelona, they've expelled any doubts.

Carlo Ancelott's side have now scored 38 times in nine wins since and not even Barça, who hadn't conceded in la Liga all season, could slow them down.

Neymar opened the scoring after just three minutes, but this wasn't to be a happy return to Madrid for Luis Enrique, who swapped Los Blancos for La Blaugrana as a player and returned here as the Barcelona coach.

A Cristiano Ronaldo penalty brought the hosts level in the first half, before Karim Benzema and Pepe sealed the points after the interval. There were so many stand out performances from the men in white; Benzema, Marcelo and Isco worthy of particular praise.

The same can't be said for Barça, though. They still lead Madrid in the table - by one point - but they evidently still have a long way to go to get anywhere near the 2009 heights which many think Luis Enrique can bring back.  

There was no doubt about who the centre attention of been in the build up. Luis Suarez. Barça boss Luis Enrique had revealed he would use the former Liverpool striker at the Bernabeu, although he wouldn't confirm if that meant from the start of not. "That't the million pound question," Luis Enqrique said.

An hour before kick off, the world had their answer: Suarez started after returning from a four month ban for biting just 18 hours eariler. 

Within 182 seconds, he had his first assist wearing blaurgrana. Collecting the ball on the right, he fizzed a pass across to Neymar, who joined him and Messi in Barça's front three, and the Brazilian did the rest.

Neymar looks a different player under Luis Enrique. He has more freedom to drop inside and he clearly feels more at home than last season. There was no doubt here, as he dropped his shoulder and cut inside, that he wouldn't beat Iker Casillas. It was his 11th goal of the season in as many appearances.

Madrid's response, as you'd expect from a side who had averaged 3.75 goals a game in the league prior to Saturday, came quickly, although they had to wait a little longer for a goal. 

Benzema had headed against the underside of the bar and thumped the rebound off the post when it seemed like the Catalans had weathered the worst of the storm. It would come again though.

Two penalty appeals had been and gone when Madrid struck it third time lucky. Marcelo, who was particularly menacing in the first half, got to the byline and his low cross was handled by Gerard Pique. Ronaldo dispatched from 12 yards for his 16 la Liga goal in eight starts.

Bravo had been breached. Seven hunderded and seventy-six minutes later.

Prior to that Lionel Messi was denied from two yards by Casillas; Madrid would take charge after the break. 

Pepe had already headed in the second, unmarked from a Toni Kroos corner, when Barça committed the unforgiveable error of letting Madrid counter-attack from their own corner. If that wasn't enough, Andres Iniesta and Javier Mascherano's miscommunication allowed Isco to outsmart them.

The Madrid midfielder, in for Gareth Bale, raced away, passing to Ronaldo, who passed to James Rodriguez, who slipped in Benzema. Goal. And a deserved one too for the hard-working French forward.

Barça pushed forward, as they had to, in search of a route back into the game. Madrid stood firm, though. Pepe and Sergio Ramos marshalled a superb defensive effort in the second half and it was Madrid, not their visitors, who looked most like scoring the fifth goal.

However, despite often having a man more, the final pass was lacking on many of their jaunts forward. 

There was a time when the outcome of the Clasico fixtures would directly influence the outcome of the title; that doesn't feel like the case this season. Barça still have everything to play for and sometimes one step back can lead to two forward.