Mario Suarez couldn’t argue with Real Madrid’s Copa del Rey win over Atletico Madrid but called for his teammates to stand up and be counted now.
Madrid wrapped up a 5-0 aggregate win with a 2-0 victory on Tuesday at Vicente Calderon, a pair of Cristiano Ronaldo penalties ending the game as a contest before half time.
Suarez told reporters after the match that the pain of defeat is present with any loss and it’s time for the Atletico players to fight.
“Defeat hurts against any opponent,” Suarez said.
“We’ve been kept out of a final we wanted to play. With two penalties in 15 minutes the game was made very difficult.
“But we have to forget it and move on to Valladolid, which we think is a very important game.”
Valladolid, currently 18th in the table, travel to Madrid on Saturday and Los Colchoneros need three points to maintain their title challenge.
Suarez is keen to avoid the Copa defeat derailing Atleti’s season and wants his fellow players to show their strength in adversity.
“Madrid were worthy winners,” the midfielder admitted.
“It hurts to lose and we aren’t used to bad times but this is where you see real men, teams pulling forward.
“We shouldn’t let the games we’ve lost mean we lose the whole campaign.”
Suarez also condemned the object thrown at Cristiano Ronaldo at half time but warned against tarring every Atletico fan with the same brush.
“It was a shameful act by that person, but the fans can’t all be put in the same bag.
“I’m sure the kid will be sorry but these things must be eradicated from football.”
