"Going to Madrid with doubts" - Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti claims their second goal might have been unfairly ruled out in loss to Barcelona

Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti has claimed that Marco Asensio's strike might have been incorrectly ruled out in their El Clasico defeat to Barcelona. The Blaugrana won 2-1 at Camp Nou to increase their lead at the top of the La Liga table.

The match was finely poised at 1-1 when Asensio put Madrid ahead in the 81st minute. However, VAR ruled out the goal for offside before Franck Kessie scored an injury-time winner for Barcelona.

Ancelotti wasn't pleased with the VAR decision, claiming Real Madrid still have doubts in mind. He went as far as to blame their loss on the offside decision.

"Making five changes in the 60th minute seems too much to me. I make two changes in the last 15 to give something higher. The match was complete from minute one to the last. We didn't win it because there is an offside that we still have a doubt about. We're going to Madrid with the doubt," the Italian tactician said after the match.

"The offside in the World Cup was clear, but today I'm left with this question. Was it offside? I don't know. The offside with the semi-automatic seemed quite clear. The game is lost," he added.

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Off-side on Asensio’s goal. Correct decision?

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Off-side on Asensio’s goal. Correct decision? https://t.co/yScPnWsSLn

Los Blancos took the lead in the ninth minute through a Ronal Araujo own goal. However, Sergi Roberto's goal on the stroke of half-time and Kessie's late goal gave Barcelona all three points.

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Barcelona now 12 points clear of Real Madrid at the top of the La Liga table

With the 2-1 win in El Clasico, Barcelona have taken a healthy 12-point lead over arch-rivals Real Madrid, who are placed second in the table. With 12 matches left in the league season, this is clearly the Blaugrana's league title to lose now.

Although Ancelotti wasn't happy with the defeat, he urged his players to prepare well for the upcoming matches across competitions.

"The priority is to prepare well for the matches to end the season well. I leave this game very proud because the game has been very good, the changes have been very good... and the coach has made very good changes. We are going to compete in all competitions with a lot of confidence. Let's fight," he said.

Real Madrid are still going strong in the UEFA Champions League and will face Chelsea in the quarter-finals of the competition.

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