Luck went Barcelona’s way in El Clásico, claims José Mourinho

José Mourinho claimed Real Madrid were short on luck after Barcelona came from a goal down to beat his side 3-1 in Saturday’s El Clásico at the Bernabéu.

Real had taken the lead after just 23 seconds when Karim Benzema was on hand to capitalise on a miscued clearance by Barcelona goalkeeper Víctor Valdés.

But Pep Guardiola’s men drew level after 30 minutes through Alexis Sánchez before Xavi and Cesc Fàbregas netted in the second half to seal the win which hoisted Barça back to the top of the table on goal difference.

“In many games luck plays an important part,” said Mourinho after the game. “When we were 1-0 up we had the chance to go two up with an opening which normally with a player as fantastic as Cristiano Ronaldo would have taken, but we didn’t.

“Their second came from a deflection, and no one can see it was anything other than luck. We had another chance at 2-2 and almost immediately they scored a third which was a psychological blow. Luck played its part but I don’t want to take anything away from our opponents.”

Mourinho added: “We are sad but relaxed. We are level on points with a game in hand. As long as we don’t lose this against Sevilla we will go in to the Christmas break still leaders.”

Barcelona coach Guardiola, whose side flew to Japan to compete at the Fifa Club World Cup just hours after Saturday’s victory, still believes Madrid are leading the chase for the Spanish title

“I don’t think it will affect Madrid’s morale,” said Guardiola. “They will go away for the holiday, recover and come back even stronger.

“There are still 70-odd points to play for, Madrid are still leaders, you can’t say someone is already champion in November or December.”

Meanwhile, Fàbregas hailed his side’s display, particularly after the break. “The first half was difficult because they covered man-to-man really well, but in the second half we played fantastically,” he said.

“We played most of the game with only three defenders. It’s an incredible feat to do that at the Bernabéu, even more so if you come out winning, it says a lot about this team.”