Real Madrid boss Fabio Capello hailed the 'spirit and quality' of his players following their 2-0 win over Spanish champions Barcelona in the local 'classico' on Sunday. "This team is now playing like a team, it has both spirit and quality," the Italian manager told a press conference after the game. Real skipper Raul and Ruud van Nistelrooy scored a goal each to end Barcelona's unbeaten run in the league. Los Meringues had lost their last league match against Getafe and Capello believes it might have done the trick for his team. "We had a serious talk following the Getafe defeat and after that there was a complete change in the team. I'm sure the turning point came after that discussion." The win moved Real Madrid into 4th place on 14 points, two points adrift of leaders Barcelona and Valencia.
Capello "These are three important points, bring us closer to Barcelona and are a major psychological boost for the players," added the Italian tactician. Meanwhile, Barcelona boss Frank Rijkaard remained calm over his team's prospects despite the defeat and disappointing performance of the European champions. "We've lost a game but we've not lost the league," said Rijkaard after the game. "We lost a game 2-0 at a difficult ground and we have to accept it but it doesn't mean we will lose sight of our final objective. The defeat is the second for Barcelona in less than a week after losing to Chelsea 1-0 in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday. "We have to learn from this, be self-critical and regain our confidence with hard work. "I'm not upset but I am disappointed because of the defeat. We fought hard but we couldn't take our chances and they did," added the Dutchman.
