Cristiano Ronaldo says winning football matches is tougher when Real Madrid’s best players are missing.
Los Blancos slipped to a 1-0 defeat at home to Atletico de Madrid, losing to their city rivals at the Santiago Bernabeu for the third successive season. The defeat all but ends their hope of catching Barcelona and means their only chance of silverware this season rests with the Champions League.
Real went into the game without injured trio Marcelo, Gareth Bale and Pepe. They also lost Karim Benzema to injury on the day. Danilo, Jese Rodriguez, Mateo Kovacic and Lucas Vasquez all got some minutes in the match against Diego Simeone’s side.
Speaking after the final whistle, Ronaldo said: “To win a competition so long, you have to have the best players and we haven’t because of injuries. We are playing and we are good, but not the best. When you don’t have the best players like Bale, Pepe, Benzema or Marcelo it’s not easy to win a competition. This is our main problem this year.”
With some sections of the media seeing that as criticism of the other players who have filled in, Ronaldo moved quickly to clarify his comments.
He stated: “I am referring to my fitness level, not level of play. I am no better than any of my teammates. I like playing with Karim and when he’s not hear it’s more difficult. When Bale or Marcelo aren’t here too. During the season it’s difficult if they’re not playing. This doesn’t mean that Danilo, who for me was the best on the field, Jesé, Kovacic or Lucas are not good, they are very good.”
