Ronaldo looks ahead to Barca

Cristiano Ronaldo turned his attention to ending Barcelona's 100% start to the season after Real Madrid routed Deportivo.

Last Updated: 01/10/12 at 11:21 Post Comment   

Cristiano Ronaldo: Bagged a hat-trick

Cristiano Ronaldo: Bagged a hat-trick

Cristiano Ronaldo bagged a hat-trick to lead Real Madrid to a 5-1 rout of Deportivo La Coruna - and then immediately turned his attention to ending Barcelona's 100% start to the Primera Division season next weekend.

Jose Mourinho's champions will head to the Nou Camp Sunday night's first Clasico of the campaign trailing Tito Vilanova's side by eight points.

But Ronaldo was upbeat about Madrid's chances of repeating last term's 2-1 success in Catalonia, which virtually assured the title for the capital club.

"We know what it is going to be like against Barcelona, but we've won there," the Portuguese said on Television Espanola.

"It will be a tough game. It's important to us and we have to concentrate and be confident in producing a good game.

"I think we are going to win. We have the quality to win at the Camp Nou. We will see what happens."

Riki gave the visitors a shock lead on 15 minutes at the Bernabeu last night but Real were level seven minutes later when Ronaldo scored from the penalty spot after Manuel Pablo had brought down Angel Di Maria.

And the hosts were in cruise control by half-time as Di Maria and Ronaldo nodded in from close range just before the break.

Pepe headed in the fourth 25 minutes from time following Xabi Alonso's free-kick, before Ronaldo completed his treble with another penalty after Evaldo had been harshly adjudged to have handled Kaka's cross.

Ronaldo acknowledged the importance of the victory given his side's surprisingly poor start to the defence of their title, which has included defeats to Getafe and Sevilla and a home draw against Valencia.

"We were a bit asleep at the beginning but then woke up and played a good game," the 27-year-old said.

"We knew we could not afford to lose any more points and it was a very important victory."

Assistant coach Aitor Karanka was not getting carried away despite the emphatic win, and preferred to focus on Wednesday's Champions League trip to Ajax before thinking about Barcelona.

"It was a league match. It's three points and we will analyse it tomorrow, as with every match, and draw the necessary conclusions - especially taking into account Wednesday's match, which is the next thing to tackle," he said.

"We have the feeling that we need to concentrate on ourselves - to keep improving and growing and win the league matches that we have.

"We are thinking about Wednesday's match and afterwards we will think about the Barcelona match."


Click here for a completely free £10 football bet with Sky Bet


Football365 Facebook Fan Page

The Football365 fan page is a great place to meet like minded people, have football related discussions and make new friends.

Related News

Sky Bet

    • Retrieving latest Sky Bet odds

Most Commented

Readers' Comments

R

afa Benitez has won more trophies (10) over the past 11 years than the rest of the current managers in the EPL combined, except for Alex Ferguson.

angry bird
Chelsea duo salute Benitez

T

he day Tonys hat goes missing for some bantz will be different story altogether..

TheBrestEver
Stoke probe 'banter gone wild'

I

m starting to think Roman may never actually be happy at the top level. If he wants all conquering fancy football I wonder if he'd be better off buying a lower division side then paying outlandish salaries to attract high caliber players too good for the division.

john matrix
The Most Unsatisfying European Victory...

Footer 365

Transfer News: Aston Villa boss Paul Lambert in talks to keep Christian Benteke

Paul Lambert is determined to keep Christian Benteke at Aston Villa next season despite interest from elsewhere.

Transfer news: Arsene Wenger to spend in summer to help Arsenal kick on

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has vowed to invest in new players and use this season as a springboard for success.

Wenger plans 'spending spree'

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has vowed to invest in new players and use this season as a springboard for success.

Mail Box

James Collins Is Only 29. Tough Paper Round

He is one of a number of solid shouts for players that look old before their time. We also have the final words on lovely D-Beck and a rejection of end of season playoffs...

Without Posh, Becks Could Have Been Scholes

That's one opinion, but others give their thanks to the man. We also have ideas for a relegation playoff, happy memories of the season and a defence of Liverpool's campaign...

© 2013 British Sky Broadcasting Ltd. All Rights Reserved