Xavi has slammed
Cristiano Ronaldo
for his criticism of
the referee in
Barcelona's 4-3 win
over Real Madrid in Sunday's Clasico .
Real Madrid were 3-2 up at the
Bernabeu when they saw Sergio
Ramos dismissed for a challenge on
Neymar, with Lionel Messi converting
two subsequent penalties to complete
his hat-trick and secure all three
points for Barca.
The result leaves Atletico Madrid top
of La Liga by virtue of their superior
head-to-head record over Real - with
the capital-based clubs just one point
clear of Barca - and prompted Blancos
star Ronaldo to allege Real were
playing "against 12" .
However, Xavi has defended referee
Undiano Mallenco and claimed that
the official seemed to make the right
call with all three spot kick decisions.
"Cristiano is wrong and his criticism
is harsh," the 34-year-old said. "As far
as I’m concerned, they were all
penalties, including the one from
Dani Alves on Cristiano, from what I
could see on the pitch."
Despite champions Barca hauling
themselves back into the title race,
Xavi does not consider there to be
any outright top dogs to lift the
trophy with nine games to go.
"Atletico are the leaders and they’re a
warrior-like team, they're battlers,” he
added. "There are no favourites from
now on though - there are three
teams who can win the title."
