, Oct 25 (IANS) Real Madrid beat FC Barcelona in the 'Clasico' in the Camp Nou Stadium, while Real Sociedad remain top of the La Liga after a thrilling 2-2 draw away to reigning champions Atletico Madrid. Here are some things we learned from La Liga this weekend.
1. Clasico shows where Real and Barca are right now
Nobody who watched the game could argue with Real Madrid's win over a Barcelona team that was high on effort, but which struggled to create chances and lacked the tactical discipline to deal with their rival's attacks.
It was enough for Real to keep their shape in midfield and defense because they knew that sooner or later, Vinicius Jr or Karim Benzema would find the space to launch a counter-attack.
That is exactly what happened as Madrid exploited the room Barca left them and Carlo Ancelotti's men took the points without doing anything really special other than being tactically better than their archrivals and not making mistakes.
2. Ancelotti wins tactical battle with Koeman
The biggest worry for Barca fans is that Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti won the tactical battle with Ronald Koeman, by sending out a well-balanced side that had pace in attack. Ancelotti relied on the experience of Toni Kroos, Luka Modric and Casemiro in midfield and they kept their shape throughout the game, forcing Barca to look to attack using the flanks.
Koeman made the mistake of using the solid but awkward Oscar Mingueza at right back where Vinicius Jr found space throughout the first half, while Sergino Dest, who dropped deep to replace Mingueza after the break offered less than Coutinho going forward. It was only when Kun Aguero came on late in the game that Barca had a focal point in attack, reports Xinhua.
Koeman must also worry about the form of midfielder Frenkie de Jong, who was poor all game
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