Ronaldo: No El Clasico excuses

Posted Tuesday, January 29, 2013 by Foxsports.com

Cristiano Ronaldo is refusing to make any excuses as his Real Madrid side prepare to face "one of the most difficult sides in the world".

Ronaldo was the star of the show on Sunday with a hat-trick which fired Real to a 4-0 win over Getafe.

The big win - and Ronaldo's sublime performance - certainly gives Jose Mourinho's squad a much needed boost ahead of Wednesday's Copa del Rey semi-final first leg against arch rivals Barcelona at the Bernabeu.

"We started out a bit sleepy because we're not used to getting up so early to play. We were a little slow in the first half and we didn't play all that well," Ronaldo told the club's website.

"We reacted in the second half after some advice from the coach and we did a good job. We scored four goals, important for team moral and we're ready for the upcoming matches".

He added: "It's [El Clasico] a really important game, a complicated game."

"We're going to play against one of the most difficult sides in the world, so it will be a great night."

With stories of in-fighting and a double-digit gap to La Liga leaders Barca, the Copa del Rey represents an important opportunity for Real to right some wrongs at the club this season.

And for Ronaldo, he is looking foward to the first leg being played in the Spanish capital.

"We're playing at home, which is a great opportunity to have a success match," he said.

"We'll be missing a number of players, key players, who are very important for this squad, but that's not an excuse, we have to play well because Barca is an amazing team.

"I hope that it's a great night for us and we're ready for the big match."

Barca head into the encounter on the back of a good result on Sunday where they spanked 10-man Osasuna 5-1 at the Nou Camp with Lionel Messi bagging four goals.