SPORTS UPDATE - Cruyff: Barcelona beat Madrid playing badly

 

The Dutch icon says that it needs to be recognised that Luis Enrique's men were not the better side in the Clasico

johan  Cruyff says Barcelona beat Real Madrid 2-1 at Camp Nou on Sunday without playing well.
The Catalans opened the scoring with a Jeremy Mathieu header from a Lionel Messi free-kick but los Blancos levelled it through Cristiano Ronaldo just after the half-hour mark.
The visitors had the better of the remainder of the half but Barca reclaimed control of the game when Luis Suarez brilliantly took down a long ball from Dani Alves before firing him.
The victory sees Luis Enrique's men move four points clear of Madrid at the top of La Liga but Cruyff was less than impressed with the nature of his former club's performance.
"Football is so great, that you can play a match poorly and win," the Dutchman is quoted as saying by AS.
"When a team plays well, the logical outcome is a win, but when a team plays poorly and wins...
"How many balls did Barca concede? Who won on possession? Madrid, no? Well that’s all that needs to be said."
Meanwhile, Cruyff says that Barca's reputation has been damaged by the controversy caused by Neymar's arrival from Santos in 2013, as well as the transfer ban placed upon the club by Fifa because of irregularities regarding the movement of players under 18.
"Court cases do nothing to help the image of the club abroad," the European Cup winner added. "We have this and the 'B' team about to get relegated to contend with."
Barca's second side are currently second-from-bottom in the Segunda Division.