Real Madrid centre-back Pepe believes that Barcelona were "very lucky" during their 3-1 victory over Los Blancos yesterday evening.

Barca fell behind after 24 seconds in the Bernabeu, but battled back to secure the win and overtake Madrid as leaders of La Liga.

Portuguese defender Pepe has insisted that the game changed on a miss from his teammate Cristiano Ronaldo.

"We were 1-0 up and we had that opportunity for Cristiano but failed [to take it]," Pepe told reporters after the game.

"It was a game that was a little bit strange for us, but Barcelona have been very lucky and that decided the game."

Pepe, 28, joined Madrid in 2007 from Porto.