Wanted to see how youngsters fare in demanding game: Real coach Ancelotti after losing to Barca
Jul 30, 2023
Texas [US], July 30 : After Barcelona fell to a 3-0 defeat to Real Madrid at the AT&T Stadium in Dallas, US, in the season's first 'El Classico' on Sunday, manager Carlos Ancelotti said he wanted to see how the youngsters fared in a demanding game.
Ousmane Dembele, Fermin Lopez Martin and Ferran Torres were the goalscorers for Barcelona in Sunday's derby clash.
The match saw history being made as it drew the largest crowd ever for an 'El Clasico' clash in the United States. It was also the highest club soccer match attendance in the history of AT&T Stadium.
Carlo Ancelotti was quoted by the club's official website as saying, "I wanted to see the youngsters in a demanding game and they delivered. I know what Modrić and Kroos can contribute. The idea was to give more minutes to those who started the game and against Juventus we will give more minutes to those who didn't start the game."
He added, "The transition started when all the young players started to play. Little by little these play.
In the first half of the match, Barcelona started well with darting runs into the rival half.
However, Real Madrid was slow to get off the blocks in the initial stages of the match.
In the 15th minute of the match, Barcelona were awarded a free-kick. Ilkay Gundagon, who stepped up to take the kick, passed the ball to Pedri who was just outside the 18-year-box. Pedri sent a through ball to Dembele, who sent a screamer past the outstretched hand of the Real Madrid goalkeeper.
The move by Barca was straight out of a training ground routine, which the players brought to the park.
Real Madrid were awarded a penalty in the first half, but Vinicius Junior passed up on the chance to draw his team level with Barca as his shot hit the crossbar before going out of play.
The first half ended with Barcelona leading 1-0.
While the Catalan giants took the honours in the opening, Real had a fair share of chances to score as well. Real's five attempts at the Barca goal struck the crossbar.
Real Madrid piled on the pressure and were close to getting a goal back. However, they ended up conceding again as a defensive lapse saw Barcelona's Fermin Lopez Martin put his team 2-0 ahead.
In the 85th minute, Martin scored with a stunning left-footer from outside of the 18-yard box.
In the 91st minute, Ferran Torres scored Barca's third of the night.
