Two-goal Di Maria hits out at doubters

Angel Di Maria says he silenced his critics with two goals in Real Madrid’s 5-0 win over Valencia on Sunday.

La Liga leaders Barcelona were beaten 3-2 by Real Sociedad on Saturday, and Madrid took full advantage of the Catalans’ loss as they recorded a comfortable away win over Valencia, with Di Maria netting a first-half double at Mestalla.

“Things went very well and I put in a great performance. It was probably my best game of the season. This will silence my critics after the recent criticism,” the Argentina international was quoted as saying on the club’s official website.

“It is an important win and means that we keep closing the gap. It was a match that we made easy for ourselves. We did things well from the start.

“It was important to keep our winning streak going. There are some matches that are difficult and others that are easier, but this time we had a great match.

“We went out to press forward as we have been doing lately and we got a lot of goals.”

Real Madrid remain third in the table with 40 points from 20 games.