Saturday, 25th October, 2014
Carlo Ancelotti has praised his Real Madrid side for not losing faith when they quickly fell behind to Barcelona in El Clasico today.
The Italian coach watched his men concede after just three minutes when Luis Suarez fed Neymar, who cut in and slotted the ball home at the Bernabeu.
Real Madrid fought on however and when Gerard Pique handled the ball in the box, Cristiano Ronaldo stepped up and scored from the penalty spot in the 35th minute.
The European champions then scored a further two goals in the second half to run out 3-1 winners, Pepe and Karim Benzema doing the business.
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Ancelotti was delighted, especially as his side showed character by recovering from a goal down.
"The effort we put in stands out. We didn't lose our heads after going a goal behind. We stuck to our plan and everything worked out well. I liked a lot of things about the team today. We played very well and at a high tempo", he told his post-match press conference.
"We stuck to the same plan, not only attacking on the break but also keeping possession.
"We showed we had chances to win the game in the first half. And we won the encounter in the second half because we wanted it so much", Ancelotti added.
Real Madrid have now cut the gap to league leaders Barcelona to just a single point.
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