Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti has blamed the team’s poor defending for the 4-3 defeat to Barcelona on Sunday.
The Blaugrana earned a fourth victory over Real Madrid this season in all competitions with Ancelotti’s men failing to win any encounter.
The victory moved Barcelona closer to the Spanish La Liga title, seven points clear of Real Madrid with three matches to go.
Real Madrid raced to a 2-0 lead thanks to a brace from Kylian Mbappe in the first 15 minutes before the hosts fought back brilliantly.
Mbappe opened the scoring from the penalty spot after he was fouled by Wojciech Szczesny before finishing off Vinicius’s pass to make it 2-0 in quick succession.
Eric Garcia reduced the deficit with a well placed header, and Yamal scored a stunning curler to make it 2-2.
Raphinha made it 3-2 with a low effort before finishing off Ferran Torres’ cut-back to make it 4-2 before the end of the first half.
Yamal’s goal early in the second half was ruled out for offside.
Mbappe completed his hat-trick with a close range finish to make it 4-3.
Barcelona held on to earn a deserved victory to move a step closer to winning the La Liga title, they are now seven points clear of Real Madrid.
Real Madrid coach, Carlo Ancelotti, blamed their poor defending for the defeat.
He said: “They did well. Every chance we had up front was clear because we attacked well behind them. We scored three and were offside twice. We had clear ideas in attack, but I don’t think we defended well. We mustn’t forget that we were missing five defenders, we mustn’t forget that.
“We had to defend better. Today’s performance is quite evident. We defended poorly, not because we had a low block; we defended poorly, period, because defending high is easier.
“We could have made it 4-4 twice. We’ve been there. I saw a game against a great team, but two great teams. I have nothing to criticize in terms of attitude and commitment. We competed until the last minute.”
Barcelona’s rave of the moment, Lamine Yamal, was delighted with the team’s response to the defeat to Inter Milan in the Champions League.
“It was an important game. We wanted to bounce back in front of our own fans after the Champions League.
“What a way to celebrate in front of our supporters. We had to correct that and had opportunities to extend our lead.
“It is a special moment. I give my thanks to the supporters. We wanted to win this game to move closer to the title.”
Barcelona will be crowned champions with a win against Espanyol on Thursday while Real Madrid will take on Mallorca on Wednesday.
