Gareth Bale suffered an El Clasico nightmare as his Real Madrid team were humbled 4-0 by bitter rivals Barcelona at the Bernabeu.
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Barca controlled the ball and led 2-0 by the break thanks to goals from Luis Suarez and Neymar, the first of which arrived after a passing move involving over 30 touches of the ball by Barcelona players without Madrid getting close to it.
With a dismal performance in front of their home fans, Balague believes there is impatience at the club and Real will most likely soon be looking for a 12th permanent manager this century.
“Obviously”, Ramos answered, “we are standing firmly behind the coach”. It has to have consequences. That’s how Real Madrid works.
“That means of course that Florentino Perez will probably get rid of the manager, and if that’s the case, what is next?”
Los Blancos have only won one league title in the last seven seasons, with Perez’s transfer market strategy of signing high-profile stars rather than addressing the tactical needs of the team creating an imbalanced squad.
The points will not mean much because Madrid is already through to the next round, but the game certainly will still be crucial for Benitez. “They’re the strongest side in the world, but we managed to produce something of an exploit against them at the Stadio Olimpico”, Florenzi told Corriere dello Sport. Also, Everton beat Aston Villa 4-0 courtesy of doubles from Ross Barkley and Romelu Lukaku, who became the fifth player – after Michael Owen, Robbie Fowler, Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo – to reach 50 top-flight goals before the age of 23. We are all responsible and we must find a reaction. “The present is Castilla and we are going to continue like that”. It’s not the time to analyse individual mistakes. “We have lost three points in La Liga and nothing more”. It’s important to recover as a group. We picked a team of top quality and experienced players, but it did not go well.
“Our idea was to squeeze possession and to take advantage of having players with experience”.
“It’s not a question of attitude”.
Whilst Madrid started with 10 foreigners for the first time in a Clasico, Barca remained true to their traditions with five graduates from their La Masia academy in the starting line-up. The chance for Marcelo was a key point.
Ronaldo and Real Madrid try to pick up the pieces away to Eibar on Sunday November 29, while Messi and Barcelona look to keep rolling at home next Saturday vs. Real Sociedad.
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Benitez admitted the defeat “hurts a lot” but insisted now was not the time for recriminations, even as a few fans waved hankies in protest and called for the resignation of president Florentino Perez. I don’t think Real Madrid gave up, I just think we were a level above them and we outnumbered them in many areas of the game and we were very effective. Many people expected that Argentinian magician will start this game, but Luis Enrique made a decision to leave him on the bench and then sub him in late in the game.
