‘Madrid have to come together’

Emilio Butragueno wants Real Madrid to stand strong despite a run of poor results after Atletico Madrid’s derby win led to criticism of the players.

Iker Casillas was whistled by the Santiago Bernabeu crowd and there have been reports of the fans turning on President Florentino Perez.

Butragueno said after the match that Madrid didn’t deserve to lose but since they did, the different parts of the club need to support each other.

“The defeat feels bad but it’s not the first time we’ve not been rewarded for our game,” he added, according to Marca.

“We should have taken advantage of the good minutes in the first half, but we didn’t. Atletico took their best minutes to win the game.

“They have a great strength, incredible. Miguel Angel Moya has been very good, very safe. We didn’t take our chances.

“We must improve [at defending set-pieces]. We knew they are very good at them and they’re not easy to defend.”

Butragueno insisted that he isn’t bothered by Madrid already falling six points behind Barcelona, stressing that there’s a lot of football still to be played.

The former striker did though call for the club to be united to get through a difficult period.

“The season just started. The road is long but we didn’t think we’d be at this point with three points,” he continued.

“When the situation isn’t ideal, you have to be together.”

Tags Emilio Butragueno
La Liga - Club News