Lazy’ midfield, ‘suicidal’ defence, Spain stung by England loss
Spain’s 3-2 defeat to England in the Nations League on Monday not only burst the bubble of optimism surrounding new coach Luis Enrique, it also dredged up unpleasant memories of their woeful World Cup campaign in Russia.
England raced to a 3-0 lead and the hosts were booed off at the break in Seville. Spain fought back in the second half with two goals but it was not enough to prevent Luis Enrique suffering his first defeat since taking over in July.
The coach’s arrival had lifted the gloom after Spain’s disastrous showing at the World Cup, where they were knocked out by the unfancied hosts in the last 16. “The doubts that seemed buried after the horrors of Russia are back,” said daily newspaper Marca yeasterday.
“They took a whack from reality that sent them
back three months.” Newspaper AS said Spain should have had a penalty but delivered a harsh assessment of the side’s performance, saying “the midfield was lazy and the defence was too high up and suicidal”. Centre back Sergio Ramos scored Spain’s second goal in stoppage time but he was criticised by the media.
“There’s a Madrid fan in the office who says he needs just one minute of a game to know which version of Sergio Ramos is playing,” wrote Juan Carlos Diaz in Marca.
“When he plays in Seville (his birthplace) he practically always shows off ... he subtracts more than he contributes.”