Real boss Zinedine Zidane will be more concerned over Ronaldo, whom he withdrew at the interval after sustaining a knock.
Advertisement
“The sending-off of Sergi Roberto hurt us and I know him – I doubt he was going to hurt [Marcelo]”, Valverde explained.
Ronaldo appeared to sustain a knock to his ankle as he bundled home a 14th-minute equaliser for Real at the Camp Nou.
Ronaldo’s injury, coupled with Barcelona avoiding defeat despite playing half the contest with 10 men, meant it was the Catalans who left the more satisfied. Neither team was willing to give an inch and the stakes were just as high as pride and honour is just as important as winning trophies for both clubs.
Philippe Coutinho was not comfortable on the right-hand side.
Afterwards neither side was able to score a victor as Barcelona settled for the draw in a game marred by controversies in front of almost 97,000 crowd as they continued their unbeaten campaign.
“I can’t say how long he’ll be out for”.
The squad hasn’t lost in La Liga this season. Yet, this new and surprising battle between Barca and Real revealed some crucial deficiencies on both sides.
Real Madrid was unable to launch numerous counterattacks since they rarely got the ball in the game, and when their stamina went low, Barca pushed the game into their half and finished it off. “But the team did a spectacular job, physically”. Referee Alejandro Hernandez Hernandez showed a total of eight yellow cards as well as a straight red to Sergi Roberto and Ramos feels that Messi’s dressing down in the tunnel caused the referee to take such decisions. Big names Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale all found the net in a feisty 2-2 draw.
Addressing the game itself, Zidane also admitted he wanted to win the clash with Barça, despite having nothing at stake.
‘Beyond what happened on the pitch, last night’s will be remembered as Iniesta’s Clasico.
Advertisement
Spanish football expert Balague has criticised the 25-year-old for his display in El Clasico and has questioned whether he’ll be able to fill Iniesta’s boots.
