Pepe blames poor finishing

Real Madrid defender Pepe lamented his side’s poor finishing after their 3-1 Clasico defeat to Barcelona on Saturday.

Real scored the fastest goal ever between the two sides through Karim Benzema to go ahead after just 21 seconds, much to the delight of the Santiago Bernabeu crowd.

But Jose Mourinho’s side squandered a gilt-edged opportunity to double their advantage midway through the first half when an out-of-sorts Cristiano Ronaldo sliced horribly wide from just inside the box.

That miss was swiftly punished as Barca equalised on the half-hour mark through Alexis Sanchez before going on to reclaim top spot in La Liga thanks to a deflected strike from Xavi and a Cesc Fabregas header.

“We were 1-0 up and we had that opportunity for Cristiano but failed (to take it),” Pepe said.

“It was a game that was a little bit strange for us, but Barcelona have been very lucky and that decided the game.”

The Brazilian-born Portugal defender admitted his team were devastated by the loss, which brought an end to their 15-game winning streak.

“It hurts to lose in front of our fans, and after we had started the game well,” he said.

“We wanted to leave with the points, but that has not been possible. We now have a game in the League Cup (against Ponferradina on Tuesday night) and then another one in the league against Sevilla; we have to win to get to Christmas feeling calm.”

“We had intended to leave the league decided (by winning). Now we only think about fighting even more.”

“We will continue working, continue moving forward.”

“I think that the important thing is the awareness that it is only three points (that have been dropped).”

Barcelona and Real Madrid are locked on 37 points at the top of the La Liga table, but Barcelona – who have played one game more – are top on goal difference.