What’s the story?
Cristiano Ronaldo had a bust up with Luka Modric and Marcelo on the pitch, which continued into the dressing room after Real Madrid’s loss to Barcelona in the La Liga, as reported by Spanish outlet AS.
Ronaldo was unhappy with Modric and Marcelo for not taking down Sergi Roberto as he dribbled past the duo, which kickstarted the counter attack which eventually led to Lionel Messi's winner.
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In case you didn’t know..
Real Madrid and Barcelona played out one of the most intriguing El Clasico fixtures in recent memory and the latter toppled the home team in extra time to secure an unlikely victory. Ronaldo’s arch-nemesis Messi was undoubtedly the star of the show with two goals, one of which was the dramatic late winner.
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Ronaldo himself had a forgetful game; he spurned a great opportunity towards the end, which attracted a lot of flak from even the Real Madrid supporters.
The heart of the matter
Messi was indeed the star of the show, even if the final goal was set up by the brilliance of Sergi Roberto’s run. But given the circumstances (92nd minute of the game), it was surprising to see that Marcelo or Luka Modric. with their level of experience, didn’t take down the Spaniard.
Ronaldo rightly called out the duo for not making the right decision at the crucial moment, as games of such high magnitude are defined by fine margins.
What’s Next?
Real Madrid and Barcelona are tied on the top of the table on points, with Barcelona ahead with their superior head to head record in the fixtures between the two sides. The ball is still firmly in Real Madrid’s court though, as the Los Blancos have a game in hand over their arch rivals.
It will be an intriguing race to the end.
Author’s take
Cristiano Ronaldo, being one of the senior most members of the side, and being the serial winner he is, is right to call out his colleagues for an elementary error of judgment. As it is often the case with footballers, they would have undoubtedly reconciled later when the dust settled on the loss.
It is important for Real Madrid to keep their cool, put the defeat behind them and try to take one game at a time in the Champions League and the La Liga.
