Casemiro Shuts Down Cristiano Ronaldo Talk After Real Madrid Loss to Barcelona

Casemiro refused to talk about Cristiano Ronaldo after Los Blancos were knocked out of the Copa del Rey by Barcelona on Wednesday. 

After a 1-1 draw at the Camp Nou in the opening leg of their semi-final tie, Real were comprehensively beaten 3-0 by their fierce rivals at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Real did not lose because of a lack of chances. Vinicius Junior, 18, looked particularly dangerous, but Barcelona were clinical in the second half:

Luis Suarez netted twice, once from the penalty spot, and Raphael Varane turned into his own net.

Goalscoring has proved an issue for Real this season, as they are averaging 1.72 goals per game in La Liga since Ronaldo's departure to Juventus in the summer.

In the nine seasons the Portuguese star was at the Bernabeu, Los Blancos averaged 2.8 goals per game in the Spanish top flight.

After the defeat to Barca, though, Casemiro refused to be drawn on Ronaldo's absence, per Marca:

"We can't talk about who isn't here. Cristiano isn't here but a week ago, Karim [Benzema] was the best No. 9 in the world. Now we have to fight for who we are. We didn't score, but we worked hard, fought a lot and created many chances. But if you don't take those opportunities then the opposition can hurt you a lot and that's what happened."

Casemiro praised the form of Vinicius, a fellow Brazilian, whom he described as "spectacular."

With their victory, Barcelona advanced to an unprecedented sixth consecutive Copa del Rey final:

They have won the competition in each of the past four seasons and will be favourites to triumph again whether they end up playing Valencia or Real Betis.

The Blaugrana look in good shape to win a domestic double this season, as they are seven points clear at the top of La Liga.

Real are nine points behind Barca in third, so their primary focus for the remainder of the season will be winning the UEFA Champions League for a fourth season running.

At the last-16 stage, Real hold a 2-1 lead over Ajax from the first leg, with the second leg taking place at the Bernabeu on Tuesday.