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Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane reflected on a “perfect” victory after his team won the Clásico 3-1 at the Camp Nou, leaving Barcelona manager Ronald Koeman furious again at VAR.
Both teams were ready to respond after shocking losses last weekend, followed by Zidane’s 3-2 home loss to Shakhtar Donetsk in their first Champions League game.
The whites, however, gave the required response to their critics when Federico Valverde fired them at the front after just five minutes.
HIGHLIGHTS | @Real Madrid win a thriller at the Camp Nou to get to the top #LaLigaSantander! 💜🔝— LaLiga English (@LaLigaEN) October 24, 2020
Although 17-year-old Ansu Fati drew quickly, it was Real who stepped up in the second half.
Captain Sergio Ramos, who returned to the team after injury, put the visitors in front of a penalty in the 63rd minute.
The awarding of the penalty, however, was controversial after Ramos fell after a pull from Clement Lenglet, and the referee reviewed the incident on the pitch monitor.
Any hope of a late Barca recovery ended when substitute Luka Modric added a third in injury time.
🗣️💬 Zidane: “After the criticism we received, we had to be calm and united. Play when we had to play, and play as we did today.”#Go Madrid | #The classicpic.twitter.com/0bxrdyrQS2– Real Madrid CF 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadrid) October 24, 2020
“I am excited for the players. It’s a team win. We made a perfect display, ”Zidane said later, reported on the Real Madrid website.
“Taking the three points here is not easy. We had to think as a team and it was a great game to do just that.
“It’s only three points but at the same time, especially considering the criticism we have faced recently, we have to keep calm, stick together and play when we have to play, like we did today.
“We deserve it and I am happy for the players after all that has been said in recent days.”
Zidane added: “I don’t know (that they criticize me) unfairly. In the end, that is not going to change and we have talked about it several times.
“I am proud of my team. I think we did a great performance.
“We are not here to silence people. We believe in what we do, being together when we have to be and that is what we did today ”.
👏 RESPECT 👏#The classic#LaLigaSantanderpic.twitter.com/V4CGXOtug0– LaLiga English (@LaLigaEN) October 24, 2020
Zidane refused to be carried away by the VAR controversy.
“There is a referee there. He went to see the incident and then he conceded the penalty, ”said the Frenchman.
“He saw the incident and blew the whistle, and that’s it.
“Regardless of the penalty, I think we deserve the win.”
❝We didn’t deserve to lose the game today.❞ – @RonaldKoeman, in #The classicpic.twitter.com/AhjWpF7gYe– FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) October 24, 2020
Barcelona coach Koeman was in charge of his first Clásico and the Dutchman felt an injustice over the award of the penalty in what turned out to be a crucial moment.
“It’s hard to understand, we didn’t deserve to lose the game,” Koeman said at a post-game news conference, Marca reported.
“The decision greatly influenced the final result. Until the penalty we were doing well.
“He had a great influence. I don’t understand the VAR. I think there is only VAR when it is against Barcelona. These tugs always occur in the area.
“We have five games and we have not benefited from (VAR) at all, we did not deserve to lose like that.
“I told (the referee) that, hopefully, someone can explain to me how VAR works in Spain.
“It was not a penalty from (Lionel) Messi against Sevilla, nor from the two reds against Getafe. I asked him why there is only VAR against Barcelona.
“There is a tug, but not enough to hit the ground like that. If you are thrown like this, you have to fall forward, not backward.
“It is normal for Real Madrid players to try to get the most out of things because they get penalties. I do not have any problem with that.
“The referee must decide, with the VAR, if it is (penalty or not).
“I don’t want to talk about it anymore, but it was a defining moment in the game.”
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