Real Madrid vs Barcelona live updates: Bellingham scores winning ...

11 points is an almost insurmountable gap to breach for Barcelona, something Ancelotti is very aware of.

"It's a big step towards winning the league," he said. "We have a big advantage now, but we need to win more points. And we have to prepare for the Champions League as well."

He was then asked about Vinicius Jr's unhappy reaction to being substituted in the second half.

"Vinicius didn't like being replaced because he wanted to continue, but he has shown a big effort," continued Ancelotti. "We have asked him to defend, to work for the team and they (the forwards) are the ones that cover more ground.

"They have speed, they run hard, they always want to attack so they use a lot of energy. I understand that he wanted to keep playing, but we needed fresh legs."