Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti attempted to downplay the 4-0 thrashing at the hands of Barcelona by highlighting his team's first-half performance.
"I do not regret my game plan," Ancelotti said after the match. "I have been in football 48 years, so I'm not wrong when I tell you that the first-half was good.
"It's different from the loss against Lille. We were very bad that day. We competed today."
The first-half of El Clasico could be interpreted a number of ways and, unsurprisingly, how it's interpreted depends on which side you support.
On one hand, Ancelotti is right in that Real Madrid were good in the first-half as they minimized Barcelona's threat in attack. At the same time, Barcelona can say despite not having much of the ball, Real Madrid weren't that big of a threat either.
Vinicius Junior had the most clear opportunity when he zipped past Jules Kounde and Cubarsi only to shoot wide. But other than that, the Real Madrid attack was impotent. Kylian Mbappe constantly fell in to the offside trap including on his goal, which he thought gave Los Blancos the lead.
In the second-half, Real Madrid lost both in the score line as well as tactically.
With the inclusion of Frenkie de Jong, Barcelona's midfield had a calmer presence than it did with Fermin Lopez. It allowed Barcelona to keep possession and look for space.
With the first goal, Marc Casadó's pass completely bypassed the Madrid midfield and defense. Their attempt to play a highline came back to haunt them in a massive way. From then on, it was all Barcelona who were afforded the luxury of Robert Lewandowski missing two chances to add to his brace.
The second-half was a nightmare for Real Madrid and Ancelotti. So much so that the frustration boiled over for the Italian manager as he was visibly upset at someone from the Barcelona coaching staff following Raphinha's goal.
" was with the assistant, not with Flick," Ancelotti said. "The assistant was not a gentleman with the way he celebrated in front of the bench. And Flick agreed with us."
Whether that's a sign of a sore winner or sore loser is up for debate. In any case, this loss serves as an inflection point for Real Madrid who had been getting away with subpar performances in Europe and domestically. Suffice to say it will be interesting to see how Ancelotti and his side respond in the weeks ahead.