Cristiano Ronaldo was unrestrained in his criticism of referee Alberto Undiano Mallenco after Real Madrid’s 4-3 defeat to Barcelona in El Clasico late Sunday.

The Portugal winger scored Real’s third goal from a penalty he himself won, with Dani Alves’s foul clearly outside the penalty area.

Despite that gift, though, Real and Ronaldo were angered by two subsequent Barcelona penalties, the first of which saw Sergio Ramos sent off before both were converted by hat-trick hero Lionel Messi.

Ronaldo said: “We are sad because we knew we deserved more, but the fight goes on.

“It is difficult because a lot of people did not want us to win and Barcelona would have been out of it.

“Maybe they don’t want Real Madrid to win this Liga. I’ve been here for five years, so I know how a lot of things are and I hope to win it regardless of this.

“It’s a feeling of sadness after being 3-2 up and controlling the game. The referee made some unbelievable decisions, but you have to carry on.”

Undiano Mallenco refereed at the 2010 World Cup, has extensive Champions League experience and was named Spain’s top referee in 2005 and 2007 but Ronaldo accused him of being too nervous to take control of the big game.

“There were a lot of errors in one match,” he said.

“In a Real Madrid-Barcelona (match) you have to have a referee who is up to the game.

“I don’t want to look for excuses but if you look at the 90 minutes the referee made a lot of mistakes. Really bad.”

Had they hung on to either of the leads they held, Real would be seven points clear of Barca.