Real Madrid wins 'El Clasico'
October 26, 2014
Real Madrid came from behind to defeat arch rival Barcelona 3-1 in the latest edition of "El Clasico," a match that also saw the return of Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez, who had been banned for biting an opposing player at the World Cup.
Barcelona started strongly as Suarez set up Brazilian forward Neymar for the opening goal after a mere three minutes of play.
But European champions Real Madrid responded well, playing in front of their home fans. Cristiano Ronaldo leveled from the penalty spot in the 35th minute, and Pepe and Karim Benzema added second half goals. The win was Madrid's ninth consecutive victory in all competitions.
"I am very happy to return to playing, it is a great relief to have this time behind me," Suarez said of his return to competitive play. He was substituted after 68 minutes.
"I don't regret it at all," Barcelona trainer Luis Enrique said of his decision to start Suarez. "He did more than I expected. He played more and with rhythm. We brought him off because it is very difficult to play the 90 minutes after such a long time."
Real Madrid trainer Carlo Ancelotti praised his team's performance.
"We didn't lose our head after losing the early goal," he said. "The team recovered well with just two days rest after Wednesday and played very well."
"The team was incredible in every aspect," Madrid defender Sergio Ramos said. "Even though we fell behind early we always kept clear that we wanted to dominate the match and not relinquish possession to them."
The win boosted Madrid to within just one point of Barcelona in La Liga. Barcelona also lost midfield stalwart Andres Iniesta to a leg injury in the second half.
Having not scored in "El Clasico," Barcelona star Lionel Messi remains just one goal shy of equaling the Spanish League goal scoring record of 251, currently held by Telmo Zarra.
"Madrid deserved to win," Enrique said. "This is a loss that clearly leaves Madrid as good or better than we are and we have to correct the mistakes we made today."
The two teams will face off again in the Spanish league on March 22.
bw/jm (AP, AFP, dpa)