Paul Clement: We are in a good position

Paul Clement has hailed Real Madrid’s performance against Sevilla last night and said Los Blancos are in a strong position in the league.

The Champions League holders moved four points clear of Barcelona and seven ahead of Atletico de Madrid after seeing off the Andalucians in a hard-fought match. Jese Rodriguez and James Rodriguez scored the goals, but Madrid were left to count the cost of victory after the Colombian and defender Sergio Ramos left the field injured.

It has since been confirmed Ramos will miss three weeks with a hamstring strain while Rodriguez is out for up to two months after breaking a bone in his foot. Los Blancos take on Atletico de Madrid at the weekend, meaning boss Carlo Ancelotti is facing a selection headache, especially as he’s without Pepe and Marcelo in defence too.

Speaking after the game, Clement, who has been linked with the Newcastle and QPR jobs back in the Premier League, said: “It was a very important win for us because we got the three points. Right now the teams are all equal in terms of games played, with Real Madrid four points ahead of Barcelona and seven points ahead of Atletico Madrid. It’s a very good position to be in.”

“Sevilla was a tough match as they are fourth in the table and we were made to suffer towards the end, something we didn’t expect. We also lost James [Rodriguez] and [Sergio] Ramos to injury and we suffered for that. Sevilla are a very aggressive team and they played with a lot of intensity. We now have just a couple of days to prepare for the match against Atletico and it’s a very important game,” he added.