Relieved Real swing through to Champions knockout
Real Madrid's 3-0 Champions league victory over AS Roma drummed up as much relief as celebration, with players keen to focus on other competitions and commentators still griping about the Spanish team's form.
Real Madrid's 3-0 Champions league victory over AS Roma drummed up as much relief as celebration, with players keen to focus on other competitions and commentators still griping about the Spanish team's form.
The nine-times European champions had to beat the Italian side to guarantee a place in the next knockout round, due to start in February, and produced an emphatic if unexciting win in Rome's empty Olympic stadium.
"The best thing is that we can now put the Champions league on hold until February. I would like to play against a French side," Zinedine Zidane was quoted saying on the club website.
"Now we only have to think about the Primera Liga and the King's Cup," he added.
Real are in second place in the league but trail nine points behind arch-rivals Barcelona, the only other Spanish side left in the Champions League.
Ronaldo gave the visitors an early lead with a ninth minute goal in a stadium devoid of fans after a UEFA sanction over trouble at an earlier group game when referee Anders Frisk was hurt by an object thrown from the crowd.
Luis Figo sealed the victory with two second-half goals, securing the second Group B berth in the knockout round. Germans Bayer Leverkusen held on to their place at the top.
"It has been a very positive victory, which lets us forget about this competition until February," Raul said.
Ronaldo was the hero of the Spanish press in a game that left many disappointed, despite the impressive scoreline.
"There's only one Ronaldo," trumpeted the front page of sports daily AS, which described his performance as "perfect". Commentators were less kind to the rest of the team.
"For those people who like to see the glass half empty, Real Madrid was like the stadium -- lacking both content and fundamentals. They have no skill," wrote Elias Israel, director of sports daily Marca.
"For those who like to see the glass half full, they are through to the knockout round and have several months to rediscover their best football," he added.
Both players and coaches agreed that playing in front of empty stands, echoing occasionally with their shouts, made the match more of a challenge.
"It was a strange game. I hope, for the good of football, this does not happen again because the fans give the game its spice," said Madrid coach Mariano Garcia Remon.
England captain David Beckham agreed.
"We played the game that we needed to, and the most difficult thing was dominating in such a strange atmosphere," he was quoted saying on the Real Madrid website.