Bernabeu Bites: Breaking Down Real Madrid v. Barcelona (in Quotes)

Sadly I didn't get a chance to watch the match, as I have family in town and spent the day out with them. Though I did run my phone dead checking on the score and what not. While a draw isn't really something we here at Managing Madrid were looking for, luckily we have one more leg to go - though now we head to Camp Nou.

Here are some post match quotes:

Assistant Coach Karanka:

"The final score is what it is. We did a good job, just like in the preseason. It's a shame we didn't win given our excellent performance and the many chances we had to score. We still have to play a match in Barcelona and we want to continue improving."

"We aren't completely satisfied because we played well and the fans have shown us their great support both in yesterday's training and tonight, but the whole team did well. Anything can happen in Barcelona with this result."

[When asked about the referee] "Real Madrid have improved, but there are things that don't seem to change."

"The squad is practically the same and we have the same working method. There are also kids from the academy with us, like Morata, who are also more experienced now and will train with us all year round."

Defender Sergio Ramos:

"We had many chances to score and that's why this result seems insufficient. We played well and were superior in my opinion," Ramos was quoted as saying on the club's official website.

"We were a lot better than in recent games against Barcelona.

"We put in a great performance and always knew what had to be done. We kept possession longer, but we lacked the luck we've had on goal in other matches."

Midfielder Xabi Alonso:

"This isn't the best result we could get, but it isn't the worst either. We have a good feeling and we have three days to work to earn the best possible result,"

"I don't care about favourites. This is a title and we want to win it. We know how we must play to take it," he said.

CR7:

"Wednesday's match will be open, but we're confident and can win. It's a shame we drew tonight. We played better than Barcelona and had more chances to score. We could have won. I believe a penalty should have been awarded when I went down inside the box, but we must respect the referee's decisions."

I do like the fact that Ronaldo took the high road, on the non-PK call.

Here are a couple from the Barcelona side, though this right here is the only time I'll mention Cesc Fabragas. If you've been living under a rock, he is now a member of Barca and it's more than likely that he'll play the second leg of the El Clasico at Camp Nou.

Here are the quotes.

Alexis Sanchez on his FC Barcelona Debut:

"I'm very happy with my debut, Guardiola told me to play the way I know to help the team", he said.

Dani Alves. I'm pretty sure is not on Pepe's Christmas list either.

"Pepe is not my friend and we're rivals, let's leave it at that. Referees often lack character when they're in charge of a match at Santiago Bernabeu," fumed the former Sevilla ace toSport.

Emphasis is mine.

Remember how I said above about CR7 taking the high road, that quote above is the polar opposite of this. And his implication that the ref's are some how biased at the Bernabeu makes me what to pull out what little hair I have left. It's the old "We didn't win, so lets put the blame on someone else". If there's one thing that makes me fume, it's quotes and assumptions like this.