Real Madrid coach Manuel Pellegrini believes his side (in the frame for the Spanish title with Betfred) more than matched Barcelona on Sunday, despite their 1-0 defeat at the Nou Camp in ‘El Clasico’.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s second-half strike was enough for the Catalan giants to see off their La Liga rivals but Pellegrini believes Real deserved at least a point from the clash.

“We at least deserved a draw because, if I am not mistaken, we had a lot of shots on their goal in the first half,” he said.

“We had two clear chances with Cristiano (Ronaldo) and Marcelo as well as some good counter attacks.

“Barca never dominated the game and I don’t go along with the idea that Ibrahimovic changed the game.”

Real are now two points behind Barca at the top of the table following the defeat and will need to pick themselves up for some crucial upcoming games.

They take on Almeria at home next weekend before they then try and qualify for the Champions League (13/2 to win it in the outright market) knockout phase in their final group match against Marseille a week on Wednesday.