Jose Mourinho extended his unbeaten record in El Clasico to six games, as he led Real Madrid to a 2-1 win over Barcelona at the Spotify Camp Nou.
The Portuguese tactician was full of praise for his star players, including the one who finished the game as captain, Andriy Lunin.
Kylian Mbappe scored both goals for Los Blancos, but the manager reserved special praise for Ukraine international Lunin over his performance in the game.
The win for Real Madrid cut the gap between them and their rivals to three points, leaving them in third place in the standings, one point behind Atletico Madrid in second.
Mourinho praises unsung hero, attributes Real Madrid win to him
Mourinho spoke with reporters after his side claimed a very important win over Barcelona on matchday ten of La Liga.
He pointed out to all present that goalkeeper Lunin had been brilliant for his side and did not receive the recognition that his performance deserved at the end of the game.
The manager pointed fingers at the press, stating that they would have remembered to call out the goalkeeper if Real Madrid had lost the game.
"Lunin was unbelievable and no one asked me about him. I'm sure you would have if we had lost!" he said.
The former Benfica boss shared a warm embrace with his goalkeeper at full-time, appreciating his impressive showing between the sticks on such short notice.
Lunin impresses on season debut for Los Blancos
Andriy Lunin was brought into the Real Madrid starting XI for El Clasico after first-choice goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois was ruled out mere hours before the game.
The Belgium international picked up the flu on the day of the game and tried in vain to shake it off, eventually getting ruled out of the clash.
Up stepped Lunin in his place for his first appearance of the season, and the Ukrainian showed no signs of rust with his sharp reflexes and impressive reactions against Barcelona's free-scoring attackers.
He kept things simple with his passing against the aggressive press deployed by Hansi Flick's side, completing 67% of his total passes and 47% of his long balls.
He also made five saves, including an impressive one in the second half to deny Gerard Martin's headed effort from a corner-kick in the 66th minute, and acted as sweeper twice to prevent the opposition running through on goal.
| Andriy Lunin vs Barcelona | Statistic |
| Minutes played | 90 |
| Passes (completed) | 24 (16) |
| Saves | 5 |
| Ball recoveries | 9 |
Lunin has appeared in five El Clasicos and won four of them, losing just one game against Barcelona.
He became the first goalkeeper in the history of the rivalry to win at least four of his first five Clasicos.
Lunin took the captain's armband after Federico Valverde was substituted for Denzel Dumfries just after the hour mark.
