Suarez lethal as Barca humiliate Real Madrid
Madrid manager Lopetegui endures miserable five-goal mauling in el clasico
Lopetegui’s Last Stand offered little reprieve.
Real Madrid conceded five, battered and bruised by a buoyant Barcelona as their manager watched on in despair.
Two-nil down after 30 minutes, Madrid rallied briefly, but were eventually picked apart at the Nou Camp by their arch-rivals. 5-1 In el clasico. There for all to see.
A first clasico without Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo for more than a decade seemed set to prove both a first and last for Julen Lopetegui.
Under fire and under siege, the former goalkeeper has looked anything but a safe pair of hands. By the end here, after a Luis Suarez hat-trick and a few more layers added to the anguish, he looked shellshocked.
At the conclusion, Ernesto Valverde offered a sympathetic embrace, but the end felt nigh. With the win, Barcelona reclaimed their place at the top of the Primera Liga. Madrid languish in ninth.
After the match, Lopetegui said: “We all know how the world of football works, and the final responsibility lies with the coach. I am not stupid. But here we win together, and lose together. But I still believe we are in an [early] stage of the season, and Madrid this year will celebrate.”
Lopetegui’s reign was unravelling with the world watching. Tuesday’s Uefa Champions League victory against Viktoria Plzen had brought a first victory in five matches, albeit a chorus of whistles too, but it apparently offered a stay of execution. Five days later, the manager’s future is again far from certain.
Defeat to Barcelona always stings that much more, but this appeared a deathly blow. Not just for Lopetegui, beleaguered and beaten by the better side, yet for Madrid’s league ambitions.
Admittedly, it remains early days, although with the loss Madrid slipped seven points behind their old foes. They are 10 games in.
It took 11 minutes for Barcelona to open the floodgates. Ivan Rakitic unleashed Jordi Alba into the vast space down the hosts’ left-hand side, the full-back motored towards the byline and pulled back the ball for Philippe Coutinho to roll into the net. It was the Brazilian’s fifth goal of the season. Without Messi, the fixture’s all-time record scorer with 26 goals and sidelined with a broken arm, Coutinho was one teammate supposed to take the baton.
Suarez was another. He duly obliged. Just before the half hour, the Uruguayan went down under a challenge from Rafael Varane and, after a consultation with the Video Assistant Referee, a penalty was awarded.
Suarez made no mistake from the spot. He rushed to the corner and lifted his shirt to reveal a message to his third child, born on Tuesday. It was his seventh goal in el clasico. He would later add his eighth and ninth.
Before that, though, Madrid fought back. Five minutes into the second half, Isco’s cross fell to Marcelo, who chested past Gerard Pique and finished beyond Marc-Andre ter Stegen. It was his third goal in as many matches.
Suddenly, Barcelona were rocking. Sergio Ramos headed over when he should have scored. Luka Modric struck the base of the post.
At the other end, Suarez hit the woodwork as well, but momentum had swung in Madrid’s favour. Lopetegui sensed some amnesty.
When Karim Benzema headed substitute Lucas Vazquez’s cross over when well placed to score, the Spaniard turned away, hands rooted in pockets, most probably wondering if that was it. Not long after, his fate seemed sealed.
On 75 minutes, Sergi Roberto clipped a cross to Suarez, who somehow contorted his body in a split second to guide a beautiful header past Thibaut Courtois.
Seven minutes later, he completed his hat-trick, expertly dinking home Roberto’s through ball. Substitutes Ousmane Dembele and Arturo Vidal combined for the latter to sign off Barcelona’s five-star show.
Just four months into his tenure, Lopetegui’s Madrid days appear numbered.