Cristiano Ronaldo wants more from his teammates
No one at Real Madrid was thrilled after drawing at home against Tottenham, but Cristiano Ronaldo took the result worse than most. The Portuguese superstar lambasted teammates about their lack of effort against Spurs.
Ronaldo’s penalty late in the first half earned Los Blancos a valuable Champions League point, but he clearly wanted more. Spanish sources claimed he took his frustrations out in the dressing room after the final whistle. Ronaldo was happy Keylor Navas made several key saves to preserve the draw, but had harsh words about the effort level of several of his teammates.
In fairness to the Real Madrid star, he isn’t used to losing at home in Champions League play. Los Blancos have typically dominated any opponent that dares step in the Bernabeu to take them on. Unfortunately for Ronaldo and company, Mauricio Pochettino’s squad didn’t seem intimidated by the occasion or the raucous supporters.
Even so, this outburst seems a lot more like a childish tirade than an actual motivational tool. Ronaldo carries a lot of influence in the Real Madrid dressing room, but at some point teammates are going to tune his criticisms out.
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After all, it’s not as if Ronaldo put on a dominating performance against Tottenham. He managed to score the club’s only goal, but it did come from the penalty spot. The talented attacker didn’t harm the Spurs defence from open play.
The real weight of Ronaldo’s words won’t come until Real Madrid take on Spurs at Wembley. You can be sure that he, along with the rest of Zinedine Zidane’s squad, will be desperate to atone for their struggles at home. No furious words from Ronaldo would have been needed to give his squad motivation for that fixture.
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As it stands, Real Madrid sit atop their Champions League group with Tottenham after the draw. That might not be exactly where Cristiano Ronaldo is accustomed to being, but it’s plenty good enough to get his squad through to the next round of Champions League competition.