Real Madrid manager, Carlo Ancelotti has accepted responsibility for the 4-0 humiliating loss to Barcelona in the El Clasico.
He admitted he got his tactics wrong but said he doesn’t think that will happen again.
Real, who had won the previous five Clasicos, are nine points clear of Sevilla with nine matches to go, with third-placed Barcelona a further three behind with a game in hand.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored twice on his Clasico debut and set up Ferran Torres.
Aubameyang and Ronald Araujo headed in crosses from Ousmane Dembele before the break and Aubayemang then flicked the ball into the path of Torres for their third.
Ex-Arsenal striker Aubayemang chipped in a fourth from a Torres pass.
As he stated in the post-match press conference: “I used Modrić as a No.10 to try to bring the ball out well from the back and find space behind the lines with Rodrygo, Valverde and Vinícius.
“The formation wasn’t good and didn’t work. I didn’t come up with a good enough scheme. It’s no problem for me to take responsibility. Sometimes you get it right, sometimes you get it wrong. I got it wrong. But, I don’t think this loss will affect us going forward. I can get it wrong once, but I don’t usually get it wrong twice.”
The coach continued, apologising to the fans: “We know how important a match against Barcelona is for the fans, so we feel low. We’re sorry. But, we have to continue and train well over these next two weeks, staying calm and maintaining balance. We have time to digest this loss. We still have nine points more than the second-placed team.”
Despite Karim Benzema being absent, Ancelotti didn’t want to use that as an excuse.
He explained: “We didn’t lose because Karim wasn’t available. We tried to press higher up, but they brought it out well and then it was even tougher when they went ahead. The start of the match was quite good, but we really struggled and risked after they went ahead.”
Barca are now unbeaten in 12 games and Xavi said: “I don’t know if we can win the title, we can’t rule out anything. Maybe we’re a bit late, but this is a very big win for us.
“We were much better than Real Madrid. We played almost as a home team in the ground. It’s a day to enjoy, not only as a Barca manager but also as a fan.
“We could easily have scored five or six. We changed our negative dynamic of losing the last few Clasicos.”
