Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo has stressed that Saturday's La Liga clasico against Barcelona should not be seen as a duel between himself and Lionel Messi.
Ronaldo, who moved to within one goal of the Champions League scoring record when he netted the opener in his side's 3-0 win at Anfield on Wednesday, was substituted with 15 minutes remaining as coach Carlo Ancelotti looked towards the Barca clash at the Bernabeu.
AS reported him as saying: "I won't be playing against Messi -- I'll be playing against Barcelona."
But Ronaldo hit out at the fact that Real had to play their fiercest rivals on Saturday evening after their Champions League game in midweek, saying the match should have taken place on Sunday.
"I don't really understand why we are playing on Saturday after having played tonight," he said. "They don't take care of the details -- el clasico is the most important game.
#INSERT type:image caption:Ronaldo has said his side's game against Barcelona is not just about himself and Lionel Messi. END#
"I don't get it. Big games like el clasico need to be looked at in another way -- it should really be played on Sunday, not Saturday. Any professional will tell you that it's not the same having two days to recover from a game like this than having three days."
Portugal skipper Ronaldo, whose outstanding strike put Real on their way to a comprehensive triumph on Merseyside, said he was proud of the team's performance.
"We knew that this is a difficult ground to visit, but we were fantastic in the first half and we deserved to win," he added. "It was a very important victory. Madrid have never won here -- they hadn't even scored against Liverpool before tonight --so it was a perfect night".
He said he was convinced either he or Messi would soon set a new Champions League goal-scoring record, adding: "Leo Messi and myself are both close to it now, but it's not something that worries me. The most important thing is to win and play well."