On Saturday, Real Madrid hoped that their two best players – Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo would come good and take their side to victory over rivals Atletico Madrid but it was just the opposite.
On Saturday, Real Madrid hoped that their two best players – Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo would come good and take their side to victory over rivals Atletico Madrid but it was just the opposite. A Diego Costa’s 11th-minute goal saw Atletico end a 23-match winless streak against Real Madrid as Atletico beat Real Madrid 1-0 at the Bernebau. This was the first time that Real Madrid have lost in the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in almost two years and the first league defeat they have suffered against Atletico since 1999.
The likes of Gareth Bale, who made his home debut since his world record signing from Tottenham Hotspurs, failed to threaten the opposition.
Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti defended his work at the club in the wake of his side’s defeat. He said, “Now is the moment for us to think that this team has done well in recent weeks. We had only drawn one game until now. Five points is not a small disadvantage, but the league is very long and we have a long time to catch up. I don’t think it is escaping us. Now what we need to do is improve our work as a team, which is the main problem.”
Real Madrid are now five points behind Atletico and FC Barcelona, who have both won their first seven games of the new Primera Liga season. The Los Blancos looked like a collection of talented players who are still unsure of just what they are playing as. Even the Spanish press criticised the highly rated team as one of their sports papers Diario AS headlined it on its Sunday edition as ‘Money 0 – Football 1’.
But as blame game begun, Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo refused to put the blame on the coach and cited the players should have stepped up the game. He said after the game, “The manager has nothing to do with it. He (Ancelotti) is doing a great job. The fault is on the players, we are the ones that have to improve.”
With rivals Barcelona and Atletico Madrid topping ahead of the Los Blancos, it’s about time Gareth Bale came to the party and showed his Premier League form, otherwise it will be yet another empty cabinet for Florentino Perez and co.
-With additional inputs from IANS
Photo courtesy: Real Madrid Facebook page
