Altetico Madrid beat their fierce rivals Real in their own backyard on Saturday afternoon, and despite an upturn in form since Zinedine Zidane took over as manager, the Real fans voiced their discontent with the running of the club in the latter stages of the match.
However, Florentio Perez will have been delighted to have the heat taken off him by some very ill-advised comments by Cristiano Ronaldo.
Cadena Cope have revealed that following the match, Cristiano Ronaldo explained that his teammates on the day who replaced the injured Benzema, Bale, and Modric were not on his level, and if they were, Real Madrid would be first.
I don't wanna put down any colleague, but when the best ones aren't there: Bale, Benzema... I like to play with Karim Bale and Marcelo, and when they aren't there, it's a lot harder. I don't wanna say that Jese, Lucas and Kovacic aren't good, but... If everyone was at my level, we would be first.
Regardless of the truth of what he is saying, you just don't use that an excuse after losing and of course the Spanish press went nuts.
Speaking later to Marca, Ronaldo explained that he meant in terms of fitness, which has a bit of a whiff off it in fairness:
I meant the physical level, I am no better than anyone else.
Those comments were the cherry on top of an abysmal day for Real as they lost to their local rivals, the fans demanded the president resign, and their best player said his teammates couldn't cut it.
The loss made history as Atletico became the first team ever in La Liga to win at the Bernabeu in three consecutive seasons, all of which were under the watch of Diego Simeone:
3 - Atlético de Madrid are the first side in all La Liga history to win three times in a row at Bernabéu. Simeone
— OptaJose (@OptaJose) February 27, 2016
It was the continually impressive Antoine Griezmann who got the goal, after some great close control in the middle of the park he linked up with former Chelsea defender Filipe Luis to get the match-winning goal:
As the final whistle loomed, the Real fans let it be perfectly known who they blame for their current league position of 3rd behind Atleti in 2nd, and far behind Barca in terms of both points and that state that both clubs are currently in, by calling for the resignation of Florentino Perez.
Zidane is Real's 11th coach in Perez's 12 years in charge, and having heard what Rafa Benitez had to say regarding his thirst for control, it's easy to see why the fans want him gone.
It's looking like the title will once again prove elusive for Real, but it remains to be seen whether or not Perez will acknowledge that nobody wants him in charge or if he will continue doing exactly what he wants.
We suspect the latter.
