Real Madrid manager shares encouraging message to Barcelona counterpart

The first El Clasico of the season has been done and dusted, with Real Madrid winning 2-1 over FC Barcelona. Much has been said about the outcome of the match, but Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti had only words of encouragement for his Barcelona counterpart, Ronald Koeman, who is under a lot of pressure at the Camp Nou.

Real Madrid have now won four editions of the El Clasico in a row, and Koeman failed to use the match as a way to prove that he deserves his role as Barcelona manager. A slow start to the season has seen him facing the sack on a number of occasions, but Ancelotti offered his fellow manager some sage advice.

"It's a complicated job – one has to continue," said Ancelotti, as the pair shook hands at the end of the match. Acknowledging each other after a match is customary, but Ancelotti went out of his way to reach out to the Dutchman.

According to Mundo Deportivo, Koeman could not help but smile after the brief exchange.

It was a massive disappointment for almost 90 thousand fans who came out to the Camp Nou to support Barcelona, and they did not hesitate to let their feelings show. Some even waited outside to surround Koeman's car and hurl abuse at him as he was departing the stadium.

Nevertheless, recent reports have confirmed that Barcelona management are not sacking Koeman just yet. The return of Ansu Fati from a lengthy injury plus Sergio Aguero's consolation goal on Sunday showed that there might be some hope for this squad.

Goals from David Alaba and Lucas Vazquez made sure that Real Madrid came out on top, but Barcelona had a couple of clear chances via Sergino Dest. Fati was mostly silenced, but his match fitness is only just building up.

Koeman is under a lot of pressure, and Ancelotti knows exactly what that situation feels like. He himself had been sacked from Real Madrid after a stint between 2013-15, even though he had won the UEFA Champions League among other titles just a year before.