Madrid discover winning formula

Real Madrid CF are talking excitedly about a new mentality after confirming their resurgent form with a 2-0 victory against reigning league champions FC Barcelona in Sunday's 'Clásico'.

Resurgent Madrid
Having started the season in unconvincing form under Italian coach Fabio Capello, Madrid hit rock bottom last weekend with a 1-0 defeat against Primera División minnows Getafe CF. However, a 4-1 UEFA Champions League win at FC Steaua Bucuresti in midweek set the tone for Sunday's success, as an early goal from Raúl González and a Ruud van Nistelrooy strike sealed the tie at the Santiago Bernabéu stadium.

Winning formula
Having been criticised in the early weeks of the season, Capello is hoping that he has hit on a winning formula. "Madrid now look like a team and that's the important thing," he said. "They have spirit and class. When I arrived I said we were going to be competitive and now we are. The defeat against Getafe has brought on a total change in the team."

Momentum maintained
Raúl said: "This victory is important because of the three points, our morale and the fact that we kept the momentum we built up last Tuesday against a great rival. We have realised that our mentality had to change and that we had to play every game as if it were a match against Barcelona or a UEFA Champions League game."

Barcelona wobble
By contrast, Barcelona are counting the cost of a tough week after defeats in London and Madrid. Having lost their 15-game unbeaten run Europe with a 1-0 defeat at Chelsea FC, defeat against Madrid marked the Spanish and European champions' first Primera División reverse since 13 May, when they lost 3-2 at Sevilla FC.

Eto'o missed
Barcelona remain top of the table with 16 points but are clearly missing injured striker Samuel Eto'o, with Eidur Gudjohsen and Javier Saviola yet to shine in his absence. "This wasn't one of our best games," admitted coach Frank Rijkaard. "We miss Eto'o despite having the likes of [Lionel] Messi, [Ludovic] Giuly or Ronaldinho because he's one of the best strikers in the world."

'We're fine'
Barcelona remain unconcerned for the time being. "Raúl's early goal killed our game off and once we started playing again we couldn't score," said Messi "But we're fine, we have a great team and we can't give up now." Rijkaard added: "I'm not worried but I am a bit disappointed."