Barcelona hailed real winners of bruising Madrid derby

BARCELONA: Barcelona were declared the true winners of the Madrid derby by the Spanish media on Sunday as the thrilling yet low-quality stalemate between Atletico and Real Madrid left the Catalans enjoying a 10-point lead over the two sides in La Liga.
Barca won 3-0 at Leganes on the outskirts of Madrid, before a bruising yet goalless first capital derby at the new Wanda Metropolitano stadium saw tempers flare all over the pitch and left Real captain Sergio Ramos with a broken nose.
“It was a war, and Barca won it,” said the front page of sports daily AS, while Marca declared “Barca won the derby”. The cover of Barcelona-based daily Sport also focused on Ernesto Valverde’s side and their considerable lead over the two Madrid rivals, headlining their edition “10 points clear - Barca strike a blow towards the title”.
There was little mention of Barca’s nearest challengers Valencia, who can reduce the gap to the Catalans back to four points if they beat Espanyol on Sunday, a week before a top-of-the-table clash between the two teams at the Mestalla. The editorial of AS criticised the approach of Atletico and Real in the derby.