Brugge striker taunts Real Madrid with Ronaldo’s ‘Si’ celebration
Brugge striker says Real are missing ex-star after celebrating like him
For Real Madrid fans, enduring a 2-2 draw against unfancied Club Brugge was bad enough, but to see Emmanuel Dennis mimic Cristiano Ronaldo's famous "Si" goal celebration following his brace must have cut them deep.
To add insult to injury, Dennis said that his imitation of the Real legend, his idol, was to remind the Santiago Bernabeu crowd of what they are missing.
"I like Cristiano and, for me, he is the best player in the world," Dennis told Belgian TV channel RTL.
"I was sad when he left Real (for Juventus last year) and I celebrated my goals like that to show them that they lost something."
Humbled 3-0 by Paris Saint-Germain in their Group A opener, Real were on course for a shock defeat yesterday morning (Singapore time) after Dennis twice found the net despite almost losing his footing on both occasions.
Real captain Sergio Ramos halved the deficit in the 54th minute with a towering header, while Ruud Vormer's dismissal was followed by Casemiro equalising with another headed goal five minutes from time.
Dennis, who is in the Nigeria squad that will take on Brazil in an international friendly at Singapore's National Stadium next week, added that Brugge's draw with the 13-time European Cup winners was down to the team, and not just him.
"I am happy to have scored two goals, we really wanted to win the game and we were not far away," said the 21-year-old.
"So we have to settle for a point, which is already a good result. It was down to the effort of the whole team, it would not be fair to say that it is due to my two goals."
When asked about his promise to ink himself should he get a goal at the Bernabeu, Dennis replied: "I'll have to get two tattoos then."
FIERCELY CRITICAL
Real's triple Champions League-winning coach Zinedine Zidane was fiercely critical of his side for their first-half display, but was happy with how they responded.
"It was a bad result, but the reaction was good," he said.
"We cannot be happy because we have never played as bad as we did in the opening 45 minutes. I'm pleased with how we reacted, but not for getting only a point.
"The first goal we conceded was laughable. We started badly and we were not focused in the areas of the pitch where the opponents could cause us the most harm."
Casemiro also recognised the vast improvement his side made in the second half and insisted that Real should aim to replicate that in future games.
"In the first half, we didn't do well," the midfielder said.
"I didn't see the fans leaving angry and, in the second half, they supported us a lot. I haven't seen them supporting us as much as today.
"We have to play like we did the second half and we should never ask for forgiveness because we always try to do our best."
Also expressing his satisfaction for the team's reaction, but not for the result is Los Blancos' director of institutional relations Emilio Butragueno.
"It was unexpected match and result," he told Movistar Plus.
"We started in the worst possible way and from there the team had courage and the approach, but without success."
Real are bottom of Group A with one point after two games, while Brugge are second with two. PSG are top with six after beating Galatasaray 1-0, courtesy of a goal from Mauro Icardi.
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