Wednesday 11 March 2015 14:46, UK
Cristiano Ronaldo says he will not speak to the press until the end of the season after Real Madrid were given a major scare before sneaking into the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
Ronaldo became the all-time leading scorer in European competitions on Tuesday night as Real overcame German side Schalke 5-4 on aggregate.
However, it was a surprisingly tense night for Real, who held a 2-0 lead from the first leg but narrowly avoided falling victim to a major shock.
And the defeat continues a poor run of form from the Spanish giants, who were virtually invincible in 2014, winning four trophies and embarking on a 22-game winning run towards the end of the year.
We had problems in every aspect of the game: offensive, defensive, desire, fight and concentration
They have now lost five times in 15 games since the start of 2015, slipping behind Barcelona in the La Liga race, and were booed off by their own fans following the 4-3 defeat by Schalke.
Ronaldo equalised twice for Madrid in the first half but appeared frustrated by their display at times during the match and TV cameras captured him apparently mouthing "disgrace" to team-mate Karim Benzema towards the end.
And the prolific Portugal international also had to be called back by captain Iker Casillas in order to applaud the fans after the final whistle.
Ronaldo then appeared in the mixed zone briefly but only to say: "I'm not going to talk.
"I won't talk to the press again until the end of the season."
Goalkeeper Casillas had more to say, remarking: "It is clear we have hit rock bottom in a spectacular way.
“But the positive thing is that, a week on Friday, we will be in the draw and we can forget the past 10 days.
"The team has again failed to reach the level of recent months but what's important is that we realise that.
"We have to understand the Madrid fans and today we weren't up to the standards of Real Madrid and the Champions League last 16.
"We were made to sweat too much but what we have to do is be more united than ever."
Real coach Carlo Ancelotti says he is baffled by their dip in form.
"We are playing very badly,” he said. “It is quite incomprehensible, after what we did until December.
"It is clear I feel very sorry because everyone has seen we played very badly. This is not good for the image of the club.
"It is normal that the players lack confidence. I think we have dipped a bit physically too. We had problems in every aspect of the game: offensive, defensive, desire, fight and concentration."
It was even asked if Ancelotti was fearful of the sack ahead of a potentially pivotal clash with Barcelona on 22 March.
"I don't think about this,” he replied.
“I continue doing my job, but I need to do it better. This is the responsibility of the coach to put out a team that can play better than they did tonight.
"I continue having total confidence in this squad because I know what they can do. We are not doing it at the moment and we need to work harder, train harder, do everything better."
