Luis Enrique has said that his Barcelona side are not playing the way they want to, and that he felt his side deserved a win in last night’s El Clasico
Luis Suarez put Barcelona ahead before Sergio Ramos popped up once again with a crucial goal in a big game, heading home from Luka Modric’s free kick in the 90th minute. A frantic end during which Casemiro cleared the ball off the line didn’t result in any goals, and Madrid held on for a draw away from home – which they will be more than happy with as it maintains their 6 point lead at the top of the table.
Speaking after the game, Luis Enrique felt that Barcelona deserved a victory, although he did say that they are under-performing at the moment :
“I think we deserved to win this game, that’s why there’s big disappointment. We had it in our hands, we couldn’t close it off. I think we deserved it, but that’s the way it is.” he said, according to The Mirror
“We’re a long way off what we want to be right now. The only chance we have is to keep winning games and put pressure on them. We need to improve, especially at home.”
The draw meant that Barcelona have drawn 3 of their last 4 games in La Liga, as their poor form in the league continues. This was a game for them to halve the gap to the leaders, but once again Enrique’s men failed to captialise on their chances.
Zidane hailed his star defender Sergio Ramos after the game, saying he wasn’t surprised that the defender was on hand to rescue Real once again :
“Ramos doesn’t surprise me,” Zidane said, according to Goal. “It’s what he has, a big personality and in games like this he’s always there, always encouraging players and never drops his guard.”
“He never gives up. He was there late on to score the goal and I’m so happy for him and I’m also happy because we believed right until the end that we could do it.”
Ramos is no stranger to scoring important goals in big games. In the 2014 UEFA Champions League final against Atletico Madrid, Ramos dramatically scored the equaliser – once again with a great header – in the 3rd minute of stoppage time in the second half. That goal enabled Real to then dismantle Atletico Madrid in extra time, leading to their much await Decima.
Ramos also scored Real Madrid’s only goal in normal time in the 2016 UEFA Champions League final, once again against Atletico Madrid. Los Blancos would go on to win that game on penalties.
Zidane will no doubt be happy with a point, as it allows Real to maintain their 6 point lead at the top of the La Liga. All in all, what was one of the less exciting El Clasicos ended in what was probably a fair result, but Luis Enrique will be left to rue his usually lethal striking force’s lack of clinical finishing on the night.
