Rosell: It was easy

Barcelona president Sandro Rosell said his team won ‘without any difficulty’ in their 3-1 Clasico triumph over Real Madrid on Saturday.

The Catalans conceded inside the first minute of the match after a poor clearance from goalkeeper Victor Valdes, and Karim Benzema pounced to score the fastest ever goal in Clasico history – 21 seconds into the match.

But Barca hit back through Alexis Sanchez, a Marcelo own-goal and a Cesc Fabregas header to wrap up the win, which Rosell said had been no trouble for his side.

“Although it is not politically correct to say it, the players today won without any difficulty,” Rosell said.

“It’s always a pleasure to be president of the club, but now much more. I want to congratulate all Barcelona fans.”

Rosell defended Valdes for his error in the opening seconds of the match.

“The first goal was an accident. It could have happened at any stage of the game,” he said.

“But when we started to get possession of the ball and the midfielders took control, there was only going to be one outcome.”

With the win, Barcelona drew level on points with Real Madrid at the top of La Liga, but Jose Mourinho’s side have a game in hand over the defending champions.