Ramos Philosophical After Barcelona Humiliate Real Madrid

After seeing his side go down 6-2 to arch-rivals Barcelona, a dejected Juande Ramos explained what had gone wrong for his team.

Speaking after the humiliating encounter, Ramos said, "There is an unpleasant taste in the mouth, because we have lost the game and most of our chance to win the league.

"Barcelona are a level above us. They were superior, but their first goals came from defensive mistakes and they took advantage."

"We then had to chase the game, and that contributed to the excessive scoreboard."

Ramos then acknowledged that despite their recent run, Real Madrid had failed to impress against the truly great sides, continuing, "The great teams of Europe (Barcelona and Liverpool) have beaten us and we must recognise that, although it hurts."

"If you remember the away game, we defended further back and everyone criticised us for playing like a small team. Today we had no option but to take more risks and go for the win, but it did not work."

"The difference is that Barcelona take advantage of their chances, unlike the other teams that we have played against."

Ramos then refused to point the blame at any specific player, stating, "Our successes and failures are all down to the team as a whole. When we were on our great run of form, it was because of the team performance."

Finally, Ramos looked forward to Real Madrid's remaining four games, saying, "Today and tomorrow we will feel unhappy, but from Tuesday we must be professional and think of the league, and fight for the league until it is mathematically impossible [for us to win it]."

Real Madrid's next assignment is a tricky trip to the Mestalla to face Valencia.