Cristiano Ronaldo has played down the significance of his personal duel with Lionel Messi ahead of tomorrow's El Clasico.

The match between Real Madrid and Barcelona at the Bernabeu will see reigning Ballon d'Or winner Ronaldo renew his rivalry with four-time previous holder Messi.

But the former Manchester United man insists the game will not just be about the teams' respective superstar forwards.

"It will be a difficult match because Barcelona are playing well," he said.

"I'm not going to play against Messi, I'm going to play against Barcelona. They are a great team. Real Madrid and Barcelona are playing each other."

Ronaldo was speaking after his early goal helped Real put Liverool to the sword in their Champions League match at Anfield on Wednesday night.

And coach Carlo Ancelotti believes his side are in top form heading into El Clasico but played down talk of a new era of dominance for the club.

The Italian said: "I think we are in really great form. But it is too soon to talk about a cycle.

"We enjoyed what happened and are fighting very hard to repeat our success of last season. We have a huge desire to make that happen again."

Real have been linked with Liverpool's precocious teenager Raheem Sterling, and Ancelotti admitted he was impressed with the 19-year-old.

"At the beginning, the position of Sterling was really dangerous for us," he added.

"But when we scored three goals, it was a difficult game for them."