Carlo Ancelotti said Real Madrid will not "throw everything in the trash" despite losing the first Clasico of the season 4-0 to a rampant Barcelona side at the Santiago Bernabeu. (More Football News)
Madrid suffered their first league defeat since September 2023 – when they went down 3-1 to Atletico Madrid – on Saturday, as Robert Lewandowski netted twice and was joined on the scoresheet by Lamine Yamal and Raphinha.
Los Blancos fell just short of equalling the longest unbeaten run in the history of LaLiga, a 43-match streak by Ernesto Valverde's Barcelona between 2017 and 2018.
They are now six points adrift of the Blaugrana at the top of LaLiga, but Ancelotti is choosing to remain calm, recalling that his side lost another Clasico by the same scoreline in their double-winning season of 2021-22.
"We don't have to throw everything in the trash, we have to forget the last 30 minutes," he said.
"It does not reflect what happened on the field. We couldn't get ahead on the scoreboard and they took advantage. The game, until the first goal, was very even and we had more chances.
"We already lost 4-0 here to Barca and won LaLiga and the Champions League. We won't be far from last season."
Madrid were continually caught out by Barca's high line, being caught offside eight times in the first half alone, with Kylian Mbappe being flagged eight times throughout the game.
Ancelotti said Madrid had chosen to target Barca's defence with balls in behind after watching them play a high line in Wednesday's Champions League win over Bayern Munich.
"It was known that they use the high line and we almost didn't take advantage of it. He had chances and sometimes he was offside," Ancelotti added of Mbappe.
"But we had three or four opportunities where they needed more success. I don't regret our approach. We did have opportunities.
"It's a tough moment, as always when you lose. And even more so when you do it after so many games unbeaten."