Ancelotti: This Real Madrid squad is better than last season's

Carlo Ancelotti remained in a positive mood despite Real Madrid's 1-0 Clasico defeat to Barcelona in Las Vegas.

The coach was optimistic in his post-match comments and even said that this year's squad is superior to the one that won LaLiga Santander and the Champions League last campaign.

"I think we have a better squad now than the one we had last year," the Italian stated after the match.

"In training, you can see that there is even more intensity.

"I think there was a lot of intensity in this match, especially in the first half, and I thought it was an even game.

"I tried to spread out the minutes among the players. I wanted to play some younger players.

"Overall, I liked this performance against a strong opponent."

Benzema will return against Club America

Ancelotti also confirmed that Karim Benzema will play his first pre-season minutes in Real Madrid's next match, which is against Club America on Tuesday.

"He should play 45 minutes in the game against Club America and then more minutes against Juventus.

"In the Juventus game, I'll test the line-up that will probably start the UEFA Super Cup."