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MADRID, Spain -- Real Madrid beat Barcelona for the second time in five days, a 2-1 win on Saturday which will do little to prevent its fierce rival from reclaiming the Spanish league title but should boost Jose Mourinhos team for its Champions League trip to Manchester United. babyliss pro perfect curl . Sergio Ramos netted the winner in the 82nd minute when he rose up to head in Luka Modrics corner to give Madrid its first home league victory over Barcelona since 2008, in a game that grew testy toward the end and saw Barca goalkeeper Victor Valdes sent off for protesting. Lionel Messi extended his Spanish league scoring record to 16 straight games when he equalized in the 18th minute to cancel out Karim Benzemas sixth-minute opener. That was Messis 18th career goal in clasicos to tie Madrid great Alfredo Di Stefanos mark set in the 1950s and 60s, but Barcelona was otherwise a shadow of the thrilling team that until last season had dominated the rivalry in recent years. "We deserved to win. The team has been strengthened by these clasico matches," Ramos said. "We are going to Manchester convinced (we will move on) but with respect for our opponent." Madrid even managed without Cristiano Ronaldo for much of the match, as Mourinho rested the Portuguese winger until the final half hour with the game against United on Tuesday in mind. Ronaldo scored twice on Tuesday in a 3-1 win over Barcelona at Camp Nou that put Madrid into the Copa del Rey final. While Madrid remains 13 points behind Barcelona in the league, this result could allow second-place Atletico Madrid to cut the deficit to nine points on Sunday at Malaga. Elsewhere, Jose Barkero levelled one minute from time to give Levante a 2-2 draw at Valencia in a city derby. Athletic Bilbao won 1-0 at Osasuna, and last-place Deportivo La Coruna drew 0-0 at home with Rayo Vallecano. Barcelona has flopped in its last three games against major opponents after also losing 2-0 at AC Milan in the Champions League. It faces an uphill battle against the Italian side in the return leg on March 12. "Its impossible to keep up the same level of play for 12 months," Gerard Pique said. "But it is true that we have played three or four bad games and that is serious because Barcelona always has to win. But this team will turn things around. I believe that because this is the best team I have ever played on. Im surprised so many people have already jumped off the bandwagon." Madrid, meanwhile, played with more confidence even with a number of backups in its starting lineup as it earned back-to-back wins over Barcelona for the first time since the 2007-08 season. Midfielders Xabi Alonso and Mesut Oezil were also given a rest, along with forward Angel Di Maria. Madrid visits United on Tuesday with their last-16 tie poised at 1-1. Barcelona assistant coach Jordi Roura, on the touchline for Tito Vilanova as he continues treatment for a throat tumour in New York, selected striker David Villa to accompany Messi and Thiago Alcantara to replace the injured Xavi Hernandez. Even with several new faces, Madrid picked up where it left off at Camp Nou when a ball intercepted in midfield led to a swift goal in two passes, as Barcelonas defence conceded a goal for the 13th game in a row. Ramos picked off Thiagos pass and fed Alvaro Morata on the left wing. The young forward sent a routine cross into the area to meet Benzemas run behind the distracted Javier Mascherano to volley home, leaving Messi shaking his head in disbelief at the ease his defence had allowed Madrid to go in front. Messi, however, made sure Barcelona hit back when he beat Madrids offside trap to reach Dani Alves well-placed pass, cut back and fired under the backtracking Ramos with a sharp left-footed effort. Messi reached the 50-goal mark for the third straight season with the goal, his league-leading 39th through 26 rounds. Mourinho sent on Ronaldo in the 57th and he immediately earned a booking for fouling Gerard Pique. He hit the woodwork with a free kick. Otherwise, the second half saw more physical play, petty fouls, and yellow cards than flowing play or clear scoring opportunities until the final minutes. Ramos beat Pique to score the header that proved the difference. Pique, who gave away a penalty with a foul on Ronaldo on Tuesday at Camp Nou, completed his dismal week by giving away a corner kick and then letting Ramos outjump him to turn it into the net. The game ended with the referee ignoring Ramos trip of Adriano in the area that would have meant a stoppage-time penalty, leading to Victor Valdes being sent off for receiving two yellow cards for protesting vehemently. babyliss procurl . After ending December on an 0-2-1 slide, the Maple Leafs have opened 2012 with three consecutive victories to match their longest winning streak of the season. Toronto hasnt strung together four straight victories since Jan. babyliss curl secret . Doctor Ricard Pruna, who was in charge of the operation, says the 35-year-old club captains cyst was extracted Wednesday in a 35-minute routine operation.ST. LOUIS -- Albert Pujols laughed at the scrutiny over his longball drought, saying it couldve lasted twice as long -- three times, even -- and he still wouldve been the same dangerous presence at the plate. The three-time NL MVP, generally acknowledged as the best player in the game, wondered why so many people were obsessed about his 105 at-bat stretch between home runs that ended late last month. The slump certainly raised questions throughout baseball. Did his surgically repaired right elbow hurt? Were his occasionally troublesome hamstrings barking? Was he stressed out over impending free agency? Was he somehow slowing down at age 31? "Whats the big deal?" Pujols said Friday afternoon. "Give me a break." A few hours later, the St. Louis Cardinals slugger began a binge that muted all concerns. In a weekend sweep of the Chicago Cubs, Pujols homered four times and drove in eight runs. He hit a game-winning homer in the 12th inning Saturday. He then launched a game-ending shot in the 10th inning Sunday, punctuating it with a prolonged follow-through and a high-stepping dance into a home plate celebration. The power show put Pujols among the league leaders with a team-leading 13 homers and thriving even with cleanup hitter Matt Holliday on the 15-day disabled list with a quadriceps injury. So much for all that fuss. "Albert," said Rodrigo Lopez, who served up Sundays big home run, "is pretty hot right now." Pujols clearly knew what he was capable of doing. Prior to the series opener against the Cubs, he posed his own question. "How many times did I hit 14 home runs in one month? Search it, search about it. You should know that," Pujols challenged. "You know what the problem is, the good things never hit the paper." Answer: Pujols hit 14 in April 2006 and June 2009. The point: Hell sometimes have a slow month, such as this May and September 2002 when he hit only two, and July 2009 when he had four. Cardinals batting coach Mark McGwire received the same treatment during his home run heyday in the late 1990s, facing questions about perceived slumps after as few as a dozen at-bats. At one point in those days, Big Mac loudly asked media assembled by his locker stall if they had wives and families to go home to. Now, its worse. "The expectations of the media, the social network, everybody," McGwire said. "They want to have a new story and talk about something." Cardinals manager Tony La Russa saaid Pujols is capable of fixing his own problems. babyliss pro curl. Evidence is the unrelenting metronome production Pujols has cranked out the best opening decade to a career in major league history with a solid string of 30-homer, 100-RBI, .300 average seasons. During Pujols first real bout of adversity, McGwire said there was no need for the two to spend more time than usual searching for answers. A bit of fine-tuning and hours of repetition would be enough, he said. "Its hard not to talk about how great this guy is and how hard he works. Its just unbelievable," McGwire said. "I really think it all comes down to pitch selection and the pitches he sees. "By the time the year is over people will see his numbers where theyve always been." Contrary to evidence, La Russa has been banging the Pujols drum all season, conceding only that the star was lunging after pitches the first week or 10 days of the season. Along with a so-so average that was up to .278 after a 10 for 23 splurge, Pujols was tied for the major league lead with 16 double-play balls. "A couple guys said he had buzzards luck," La Russa said. "In Alberts case I was surprised that after 10 years of making a statement, that there was that much concern." After Sundays game, La Russa said he witnessed "greatness in person." "We see it every day for 10 years, two months. Hoping for a lousy single and he hits it out of the park." A handful of times during his breakout weekend, Pujols declared that nobody in the major leagues had been hitting the ball as hard as he had the past month, and that hed simply had far more than his share of misfortune with balls that got caught at the warning track and with liners that were snared. "You follow me, you cant believe Im hitting .260," Pujols said. "Theres nothing I can do. Thats it, theres nothing you can do." The first truly humid homestand no doubt contributed to Pujols surge. The power alley to left-centre field is suddenly a jet stream, and the estimated distance of his no-doubt-about-it homer on Sunday was 446 feet, deep into the bleachers. Pujols homered twice Saturday and La Russa said both shots probably would have hung up in the air had Busch Stadium not been bathed in 30C-plus degree temperatures and shirt-soaking conditions. "The elements got him," La Russa said. "Thats why it was an unnecessary conversation for a long time about his power. Nothing wrong with his power." ' ' '