Reactions as Real Madrid end Barcelona’s perfect La Liga start
Reactions have continued to trail Real Madrid’s 2-1 win over Barcelona in the El Clasico clash at the Camp Nou Stadium on Sunday.
The Los Blancos denied their rivals the opportunity to win a record 10 consecutive La Liga matches while also handing them their first defeat of the season.
Kylian Mbappe scored a brace, while Raphinha scored Barcelona’s only goal of the game.
The victory helped Real Madrid to reduce Barcelona’s lead to three points after 10 matches in the La Liga.
Jose Mourinho described it as a high-level encounter, praising his players for their extraordinary performances against Barcelona.
He said: “It was a high-level game,” said Mourinho. “I’m sure football fans around the world stopped to watch it and weren’t disappointed.
“As far as we’re concerned, the boys put in an extraordinary performance. They showed a lot of courage in playing out from the back against an opponent who presses very aggressively. We created some good chances to score.
”Obviously, Barcelona reacted strongly in the second half, but we stayed calm and organised. We never lost our composure. For me, it was a great victory for the boys.”
The Portuguese manager refused to take the credit for the victory.
Mourinho added: “No, no. It [the credit] is for the players.
“It’s our life, the coach’s life. That’s why, week after week, coaches lose their jobs. But that’s the way it is. And in this case, I’m incredibly happy that it’s like this. The players deserve it. They deserve it.
“It’s much harder to be on the field and play than on the bench and make decisions. I’m very, very happy for them. For all of them.”
On the other hand, Barcelona coach, Hansi Flick was not pleased with his team’s performance in the match.
He said: “I’m not satisfied [with the performance]. Today, you saw we are not 100% fresh.
“Normally, we are fresh, and we can create a little bit more.
“The second half was good. Madrid had two chances to score a second, but we came back and controlled the game, and we made it 1-1. I had the feeling that now it is on our side.
“But, in the end, we made the same mistake, played into pressure, and then they directly made the counter and scored the goal. We have to accept it… defeat is also a part of the game.”
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The German manager backed the team to rest and go for victory in their upcoming matches against Alaves, Aston Villa and Atletico Madrid before the international break.
Flick added: “I don’t think this defeat will create any doubts within the team. Everyone knows the situation. We didn’t play our best today, but in big games, details decide the outcome. That’s how the scales tip, and today luck wasn’t on our side,” he added.
“We have to improve. After these defeats, there are no excuses. But I know what we need to improve on. I’m not worried because this is part of the game and the sport. Two defeats are too many for me and all Barça fans. Especially in the Clásico. We don’t want to lose.
Mourinho extended his unbeaten run in the El Clasico to six matches, becoming just the third Real Madrid coach to go six El Clasicos in a row without defeat – 13 years after he last led Los Blancos in this fixture.
It was also just a second victory in eight games against Barcelona for Real Madrid.
Barcelona midfielder, Pedri, said the team paid for their mistakes in the encounter.
He said: “In general, we didn’t play well. We were not ourselves in the first half. There are a lot of things we could have done better.
“We got back on level terms in the second half, but we did not defend the second goal well — from a transition, as well, which we knew they could do.
“But, above all, in the first half we were really slow, we lost the ball stupidly a lot and you pay for those mistakes.”
After 11 consecutive victories in all competitions, they have now lost back-to-back games after also losing 4-2 at PSG last Tuesday in the Champions League.
Mbappe was delighted to score his 100th goal for Real Madrid in just 116 matches.
He said: “I’m very happy, everyone knows I like to score goals and help the team with that.
“But I think today this is just a detail, because the most important thing is the team’s victory and how we win as a group.
“This victory will give the group a lot of confidence and there will be many more goals, so it’s not that important,” he added.
Barcelona will return to action against Alaves on Saturday, while Real Madrid will hope to build on the win when they face Racing Santander on Sunday.
