Real Madrid left-back Marcelo says Cristiano Ronaldo is not the only former great being missed at the Santiago Bernabeu in the wake of the team’s first dropped points of the season.
Madrid were held to a 1-1 draw by Athletic Bilbao on Saturday, slipping two points behind early La Liga leaders Barcelona. Iker Munian gave Bilbao a first-half lead before Isco came on from the bench to equalise.
The Brazilian admitted the result was disappointing but downplayed the effect Ronaldo’s summer departure for Juventus has had on the side.
“I think supporters also often remember Raul, [Zinedine] Zidane… Not only Cristiano,” Marcelo said after the game.
The 30-year-old added that a win would have been a fairer reflection of the team’s performance, and that Los Blancos are “firing on all cylinders” despite the result.
“The draw is a bit disappointing,” he said. “We were hoping for a fairer outcome, which would have been to win the game.
“We gave it our all to do so and we improved in the second half but we have to move on from this game and think about the next.
“We had a lot of the ball and created chances but it just wouldn’t go in for us. We’ve got a fantastic team, we played well, but we couldn’t win the game.
“We didn’t want to drop any points here.
“We also lacked a bit of patience. After going behind, we tried to get on top quickly, but that’s the way things go in football.
“We came very close to getting the three points. We’re firing on all cylinders right now.”
