Real Madrid's Manuel Pellegrini: Cristiano Ronaldo Generates Both Admiration And Envy

Speaking in his weekly press conference, Real Madrid coach Manuel Pellegrini has expressed that he does not believe that Saturday's match against Deportivo La Coruna will be decisive in the Liga table, as there are still 18 matches left in the season.

"There is still an entire half of the season left and we can't speak of a 'match point' yet," said the Chilean in comments reported by Marca. "We will put forth a competitive team [against Deportivo] and I hope to see the same Madrid as always."

Questioned about Cristiano Ronaldo's two-match ban before the CEDD's final decision to uphold the ban, Pellegrini lamented the loss of his best player and spoke of injustice.

"Cristiano's ban is unjust and I hope that he will be able to play in the Riazor. I return to what I said post-match and that was that he was only trying to get away from his defender. Two matches out seems disproportionately excessive. I do not think Cristiano is the problem. What he has generated in the past few months is impressive; it is a combination of both admiration and envy."