MADRID (Reuters) - Karim
Benzema, Federico Valverde and Rodrygo were all on target as a dominant Real Madrid beat old rivals Barcelona 3-1 at home in ‘El Clasico’ on Sunday to move top of LaLiga.
The defeat was another blow to Barca and manager Xavi Hernandez after they were left on the verge of Champions League elimination following a draw with Inter Milan in midweek.
Real boss Carlo Ancelotti said on eve of the game that he was not going to reinvent the wheel as he sought to avoid a repeat of the result between the sides in March, when he put midfielder Luka Modric up front only to get hammered 4-0 by the Catalans.
There were no surprises in his lineup as he left it to his Barca counterpart Xavi to get inventive.
He left midfielder Gavi on the bench and, aware of the danger that in-form Vinicius Jr presented from the left wing, decided to start Sergi Roberto as a full back on the right and rush back defender Jules Kounde, who has recently been nursing a hamstring injury, to cover the Brazilian.
The strategy did not pay dividends for the visitors, with Vinicius being a dominant force on that flank, often breaking free running down the left channel.
Barca had no answer to Vinicius’s relentless pace and Toni Kroos’s precise passes for Real and both were the architects of several chances, including the first two goals.
The pair combined with nice one-touch passes in the build-up to Benzema’s opener with the France striker finishing into the empty goal on the rebound, after goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen denied Vinicius from close range in the 12th minute.