RAM RAID
Madrid win Clasico
ZINEDINE ZIDANE feels he’s silenced his snipers after Real Madrid returned to form by beating rivals Barcelona in El Clasico.
Questions were asked about whether Zidane was still the right man to lead Los Blancos heading into yesterday’s crunch meeting with Barca.
Zidane’s men had suffered shock back-to-back defeats – in La Liga and the Champions League – but they bounced back in style to move top.
And the Frenchman feels he has answered his critics as goals from Federico Valverde, Sergio Ramos and Luka Modric clinched the win at an empty Nou Camp.
Zidane said: “After the criticism we received, we had to stay calm and united.
“Play when we had to play, and play the way we did. I don’t know if the criticism towards us was fair or not.
“What I can say is that I’m proud of my team. We’ve done it against a team that always causes you problems.
“We have to enjoy it after all the comments that were made about us. We’re not here to shut people up. We’re here to do it our way and to believe in what we do.
“That’s what we’ve done. I’m very proud of what we’ve done, defending compactly and then attacking with pace.
“In the end, I’m happy at getting three points here.”
Real went ahead when good work from Karim Benzema saw Valverde fire home after just five minutes.
But their joy was shortlived when 17-year-old Ansu Fati made history by hauling Barca also immediately level.
Jordi Alba got away down the left and pulled the ball back across for the teenager to slot home – breaking the record as the youngest El Clasico goalscorer.
Lionel Messi was foiled by keeper Thibaut Courtois and Fati almost grabbed another goal but dragged his shot wide.
But Los Blancos went back in front after 63 minutes.
Ramos tumbled following a tug by Clement Lenglet and the referee awarded a penalty having reviewed it on the pitchside monitor. The Real captain scored from the spot.
Real Madrid sealed victory when substitute Modric finished off from close range.
Barca boss Ronald Koeman said: “We played well and had good opportunities to score.
“Some parts of the game we were the better team. It’s difficult to understand, we did not deserve to lose the game.”