Cristiano Ronaldo was “not the Cristiano we are used to” during Real Madrid’s 4-0 defeat at the hands of rivals Atletico Madrid on Saturday, according to Luis Garcia.

The former Liverpool and Atletico attacker watched as goals from Tiago, Saul Niguez, Mario Mandzukic and Antoine Griezmann humbled the current La Liga leaders at the Vicente Calderon, in what proved to be a disappointing day all round for the visitors.

Ronaldo returned to the starting line-up after serving a two-match ban, although the Portuguese star failed to make an impact for boss Carlo Ancelotti’s side. Garcia claimed he thought that Ronaldo was not himself throughout the game, saying: “I think he’s not in shape – he’s not 100 per cent.

“When you saw Ronaldo playing before you saw him strong, he had the speed, the power. Today he looked like his legs were not strong enough. He was losing the pace, he gave the ball away very easily, and it’s not the Cristiano we are used to.”

The defeat leaves Real Madrid four points ahead of Barcelona at the La Liga summit, although the Catalans do have a game in hand, meaning the deficit could be reduced to just one point by the end of the weekend’s fixtures.

The 4-0 defeat does not appear to have dented Real’s status as major favourites for their next La Liga encounter though, as they are priced as 1.06 favorites to defeat Deportivo La Coruna next weekend. The draw is at 8.50 whilst a Deportivo win is priced at 25.67.