Barcelona captain Carles Puyol acknowledged Real Madrid had really tested the champions in 'El Clásico' at Camp Nou, citing Barça's work ethic as pivotal in the 1-0 win.

Puyol had an inspired game with three key blocks, while goalkeeper Victor Valdes pulled off a brilliant save to deny Cristiano Ronaldo in a determined display from the treble-winners.

"I haven't seen Real play much this season, but they played very well and had their chances, but (Victor) Valdes was fantastic," said Puyol.

"We were made to suffer because we had to play against a great team with great players. We went out as we usually do trying to control possession. We worked incredibly hard and that's why we won.

"I don't think it is fair to just talk about Real and Barça fighting for the title because Sevilla and Valencia will also fight for the title."

Barça are two points ahead of Real at the summit, with Sevilla four points adrift and Valencia five points behind in fourth. Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored his eighth goal of the season to win the match just five minutes after coming on as a second half substitute in what was a dream Clásico debut.

"You can't have a better Clásico debut than (Ibrahimovic) did," said Puyol. "He is one of the best players in the world and, even though he was not fully fit, he scored the goal and gave us a lot of options."