Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo had shown his displeasure towards the referee’s decision to send off his teammate Pepe in the Champions League tie against their rivals Barcelona. Ronaldo joined the chorus of criticism coming out of Real Madrid following their 0-2 defeat to Barcelona at the Bernabeu Stadium.
Real Madrid stopper, Pepe was sent off in the 1st leg of the Champions League semi- finals tie against Barcelona, before going down 0-2.
Ronaldo showed his discontent, following their defeat, that the sending off had a huge impact on the outcome of the game.
Ronaldo stated “I do not understand why everyone playing against them (Barcelona) in the Champions League ends with 10 men, Arsenal, Chelsea. Every year it is the same. We are sad at the dressing room because every year it is the same”.
“It is not an excuse but playing against 10 is very different to playing with 11.”
“We controlled the game at 11 versus 11 but we conceded two goals when we were down to 10.”
“A goalless draw would have been a good result. We had a strategy. At the end Kaka would play a few minutes and we were going to attack. Football is all about strategies,” he further added.
The forward admitted that he wanted to quiz the referee but did not as the referee would then show him a yellow card.
Barcelona’s striker Messi sealed the match, scoring a brace by an individual effort, but Ronaldo was of the view that his life was made much easier.
Ronaldo said “I wish I had the chance as Messi did to play against 10 because then everything is so much easier.”
Real’s Coach, Jose Mourinho was left fuming and had a heated argument with the officials, which led the officials to dismiss him to the stands.
Mourinho said “I haven’t said anything to the referee, I just laughed and cheered. If I said what I was thinking, my career would have ended.
Barcelona is just one step ahead from Wembley, but they cannot be complacent against the Real Madrid side, as Madrid now has nothing to lose. Real Madrid can bounce back and Barcelona will be wary of this. Another El-Classico waiting, and who knows what happens there as well.
Tags: Barcelona, Champions League, CL, Cristiano Ronaldo, Decision, Football, Pepe, Real Madrid, Red Card
