Madrid, October 17 (BUS): Carlo Ancelotti learned his lesson, and Real Madrid won the “El Clasico” on Sunday.
After an embarrassing 4-0 loss at home to Barcelona last season, the Real Madrid coach made sure not to try anything different with his team this time around as Real Madrid won 3-1 to top La Liga.
It also dealt Barcelona another painful blow, four days after the Catalan club’s hopes of advancing in the Champions League ended, the Associated Press reported.
Ancelotti had used midfielder Luka Modric in the “false nine” in attack last season and Barcelona took advantage of the opportunity to beat Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu.
“I thought about what happened last season, when I tried something different,” Ancelotti said. “For this match, I didn’t try to give anything, I left the players in their positions and Modric played a great game in midfield.”
Karim Benzema and Federico Valverde scored goals in the first half, and Rodrygo added another goal in stoppage time in the second half, as the defending champion won the first “Classico” of the season to take three points ahead of Barcelona in the league standings. The two opponents entered the match with a tie on points, and Barcelona lead by goal difference.
It was Real Madrid’s sixth win in the last seven ‘Clásicos’, and the only setback was 4-0 the last time the two teams met at the Bernabéu.
Sunday’s defeat was another disappointing setback for Barcelona, after they drew 3-3 against Inter Milan at home on Wednesday, effectively exiting the Champions League with two rounds of the group stage.
“We had chances, but we’re having a bad moment and nothing is going our way,” said Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez. “We need to change this dynamic as quickly as possible.”
Barcelona did not advance to the knockout stage of the Champions League last season, their first without Lionel Messi, but the elimination this time around would be very disappointing given that the club continued to spend to strengthen its squad with players like Roberto Lewandowski and Rafinha.
Lewandowski, the league’s top scorer, missed his biggest chance in the first half, losing aloft near the goal line.
Barcelona dominated possession and created scoring opportunities, but it was Madrid that took advantage of their chances and took advantage of Barcelona’s defensive struggles.
“We knew how to suffer when they controlled the ball, but we were influential in attack and scored the three goals,” Modric said.
Benzema opened the scoring in the 12th minute with a shot from inside the area, after goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen had stopped in a one-on-one confrontation with Vinicius Junior. It was Benzema’s first goal in six matches. He also had a goal disallowed for offside in the second half.
Valverde added the lead with a low shot from outside the area directly in the 35th minute, with Ferran Torres returning with a goal for the visitors in the 83rd minute.
Substitute Rodrigo concluded the victory for Madrid by converting a penalty kick in stoppage time after falling inside the area.
“We are very disappointed,” Barcelona defender Jules Conde said. “We didn’t play a bad game but we made mistakes in the transition in the first half and they benefited.”
Real Madrid were still without injured goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, while Barcelona also had injuries and Xavi had to improvise Conde as centre-back.
This is Real Madrid’s eighth win in nine league matches, as they drew 1-1 at home to Mallorca in the seventh round.
Barcelona, whose only draw in the first round was against Rayo Vallecano at home, entered the match after only conceding once in eight league matches.
Sociedad momentum
Real Sociedad beat Celta Vigo 2-1, achieving its seventh consecutive victory in all competitions.
Aser Ellaramendi and Igor Zubeldia scored a goal in each half for Sociedad, who remained in fifth place.
Midtable Celta, who scored through veteran striker Iago Aspas in the first half, have lost four of their last five games.
Other results
Real Betis moved to fourth place after their 3-1 victory over Almeria with two goals from William Carvalho and one from Borja Iglesias.
13th-placed Espanyol beat Valladolid 1-0 with Joselo’s victory in the 78th minute. Valladolid remained outside the relegation zone.