Javier Mascherano has poured cold water on his heated altercation with Cristiano Ronaldo during Barcelona 's 2-1 win over Real Madrid . A crunching tackle by Mascherano in the second half led to Ronaldo reacting with an ill-tempered , soft kick on the Argentina midfielder . It prompted Mascherano to go down holding his face on the pitch but referee Antonio Miguel Mateu Lahoz did n't buy it , deciding to book the Barca player and let the already-cautioned Ronaldo off . This is the heated moment where Cristiano Ronaldo has a soft kick out at Barcelona 's Javier Mascherano . Referee Antonio Miguel Mateu Lahoz did n't buy it , deciding to book the Barca player for the altercation . 'He boiled over a little but it was n't with bad intent , ' Mascherano said . 'These sorts of things happen out on the pitch . ' Barcelona beat their rivals but were not at their best on Sunday night , yet Mascherano insists their style of play against Real should not go unnoticed . 'Football is n't just about possession , ' he continued . # This club has a way of playing and we respect that but football has many facets - it 's about pressurising , about suffering when you have to and being tactically smart . We have to be a complete team and that 's what we are right now . Barcelona won the El Clasico match against Real Madrid as they extended their lead at the top of La Liga . Ronaldo scored at the Nou Camp but was on the losing team as Barcelona beat their rivals 2-1 . 'Teams like Madrid push you to the limit , both physically and mentally . We made a great effort , especially as we played in midweek . We came out on top and we 're very happy . 'If you 're not careful with Madrid they 'll get on top of you . They 're the best in the world at that . We started well . We controlled the game and scored , and that 's when they began to push forward . 'We gave them too much space and lost the ball too often . In the second half we re-organised ourselves . We scored and started playing our own game . '
Real Madrid at the Nou Camp on Sunday night in La Liga . Javier Mascherano and Cristiano Ronaldo were involved in an altercation . Mascherano went in hard on Ronaldo , who reacted with a petulant kick . He went down holding his face in a bid to get Real 's Ronaldo booked . The referee did not buy Mascherano 's playacting and booked him instead . READ : Five things we learned from El Clasico .