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Carlo Ancelotti heaped praise on Real Madrid for delivering a “complete match” as Los Blancos defeated Barcelona 3-1 in Sunday’s El Clasico.
Ancelotti’s side have now won six of their past seven matches against Barca in all competitions, after goals from Karim Benzema, Federico Valverde and Rodrygo sealed maximum points at Santiago Bernabeu.
Los Blancos subsequently moved three points clear at the summit of LaLiga, while condemning their rivals to a first domestic defeat of the season.
And the Italian was pleased by the confidence and control demonstrated by his players. When asked what was the key to his side’s victory, he told DAZN: “Everything. We had to make a complete match, and we did it.
“It is true that the beginning was good, we got ahead quite early and we controlled it well in the second half. We had a lot of confidence, with and without the ball.
“It was clear that [Eder] Militao had to put pressure on [Robert] Lewandowski. We controlled the players well between the lines with [Toni] Kroos and [Aurelien] Tchouameni.”
Valverde scored the pick of the goals with his fine 20-yard strike doubling Madrid’s lead in the 35th minute, while it was the first Los Blancos had scored at home against Barca from outside the area since Raul did so during the 1998-99 season.
After failing to find the back of the net in LaLiga last season, the Uruguay international has now scored four in nine appearances this term.
“I try to enjoy in each position, to give the maximum in each position,” Valverde said. “I know that above, I can contribute with goals and assists, and in the middle with work and energy. I was able to score and I’m very happy.
“We knew it would cost. I think we worked well, we knew how to defend and suffer, and in attack, we came out quickly.”
