Wales taught harsh lesson as Spain turn on the style

Spain produced a Cardiff masterclass to stun Wales as Luis Enrique’s stylish side strolled to a 4-1 win on a night when the Welsh returned to the Principality Stadium for the first time in seven-and-a-half years.

Paco Alcacer, with a brace, and Sergio Ramos scored inside 29 minutes before substitute Marc Bartra added a fourth with a towering second-half header.

Sam Vokes headed a consolation a minute from time but it was a sobering evening for Ryan Giggs’ side ahead of their Nations League game against the Republic of Ireland.

After half-an-hour, statisticians were thumbing through the record books to discover Wales’ heaviest loss was a 9-0 defeat to Scotland in 1878. It did not quite get to those proportions as a raft of replacements took the sting out of Spain’s attacking edge, but it was still Wales’ heaviest defeat since a 6-1 thrashing away to Serbia in September 2012.

Wales had not played at the home of Welsh rugby since losing a Euro 2012 qualifier to England 2-0 in March 2011. The attendance of 50,232 justified the Football Association of Wales’ decision to move the game from the Cardiff City Stadium, although it was not a switch that went down well with die-hard supporters.

Spain appear to be in rude health after the disappointment of their last-16 exit at the World Cup last summer, scoring 12 goals in Enrique’s three games in charge.

Almost from the first minute this was a harsh lesson for the hosts who were a mixture of youth and experience, but without their talisman Gareth Bale.

Boss Giggs had reported the Real Madrid forward was suffering from “muscle fatigue”, although he was on the pitch at half-time to receive a Golden Boot for his record tally of 30 Wales goals. Giggs is hoping that Bale will be involved in Dublin on Tuesday and, on this evidence, Wales certainly need him.