Football news - We can't keep talking about Cristiano Ronaldo, says Casemiro after Barcelona defeat
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Updated 28/02/2019 at 08:55 GMT
Casemiro has refused to use Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure as an excuse for Real Madrid’s humbling defeat to Barcelona in the Copa del Rey.
Real Madrid's Brazilian midfielder Casemiro looks on during the Spanish Copa del Rey (King's Cup) semi-final second leg football match between Real Madrid and Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid on February 27, 2019.
Image credit: Getty Images
Luis Suarez struck twice and Raphael Varane scored an own goal in a 3-0 defeat at the Bernabeu on Wednesday, but the Los Blancos midfielder refused to blame players – past or present – for the defeat.
"We cannot talk about a player who is not here," Casemiro said of Ronaldo, who moved to Juventus last summer.
"A week ago we talked about [Karim] Benzema being the best nine, Vinicius, Lucas [Vazquez]... we cannot talk about Cristiano because he's not a Madrid player.
We missed a goal, but the top players are doing everything very well, especially Karim, who is making his best season at Madrid.
Casemiro did not want to lay any blame at the door of Vinicius – the 18-year-old forward, who has come into the team to try and plug the gap left by Ronaldo – even though the Brazilian attempted five fruitless shots in the first half.
"Speaking only about him is unfair,” added Casemiro. “He is daring, courageous and not afraid of anything. His level is spectacular for his age."
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