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BARCELONA (Reuters) – Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos praised his team for sticking together and striving to beat Barcelona 3-1 in La Liga on Saturday after a nightmare week in which they suffered losses to Cádiz and Shakhtar Donetsk.
Ramos scored a crucial second-half penalty to put Madrid back in the lead after Barça’s Ansu Fati canceled Federico Valverde’s first goal, while Luka Modric secured points for the La Liga champions with injury time. .
“We knew how to put criticism aside. We had to be united after a terrible week for us, there was no time to sulk, “Ramos told reporters.
“In general we played very well, we showed a lot of commitment today and we showed that criticism does not hurt us and that we will always keep going. This victory will do a lot for our mental strength. “
Ramos, who is the longest-serving player at Madrid and who played 45th in the Clásico on Saturday, is well used to his disproportionate team’s losing streak of results.
“I’ve been here for 16 years and a crisis can start after two bad games. In the course of a season you always go through bad spells and hopefully this only lasts a week, “he said.
“Negative energy spreads through the locker room after losses like the ones we’ve had, but it’s up to the more experienced players to get rid of it. This team has won a lot, but we want to keep winning and we are doing it the right way. “
Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane went out of his way to explain how his team could play so well against Barça so soon after their haggard performance against Cádiz and Shakhtar.
“Sometimes there is no explanation, but we just focus on what we did today and we want to continue playing like that,” he said.
“I don’t know if the criticism was fair or unfair, all I can say is that I am proud of my players. We have beaten a team that always causes you problems. We should enjoy this after all that has been said about us. “
Reporting by Richard Martin; Editing by Christian Radnedge
