‘HAMPDEN WAS HORROR SHOW’
Madrid boss doomed as super Suarez hits hat-trick
Coutinho Marcelo Suarez Vidal
JULEN LOPETEGUI incredibly claimed his Real Madrid side should have won – despite this mauling at the Nou Camp which puts him on the brink of the sack.
Luis Suarez hit a hat-trick as Barca smashed five in El Clasico. And with Real now languishing halfway down La Liga, Lopetegui, only appointed in the summer, is surely now toast.
Antonio Conte, sacked by Chelsea in July, is the hot favourite to replace Lopetegui. Unbelievably, the Real boss claimed he thought his side could have triumphed. He said: “It is hard, a defeat is always hard, even more at Barcelona.
“We have the feeling that we could have turned the game around, we had chances to equalise, and go on and win. This is a tough blow, but I am strong enough to know everything can be turned around.
“There is a long way to go, I have a lot of faith in this group of players.”
The manner of the defeat will add to the pressure on Lopetegui and midfielder Casemiro said: “To talk about the coach now, we cannot do that. It is the players who are out on the pitch. We are responsible, the players, for what is happening at Real Madrid.
“We are not playing well and must work harder as this club requires the best, always. This 5-1 sums up our season so far.
“We have played well in some spells, But that is this season – we are a disaster, all playing very bad, all of us.”
Without the injured Lionel Messi, who was watching from the stands (left) and Cristiano Ronaldo, now scoring goals for Juventus, this fixture cried out for a new hero.
Step forward Suarez, the ex-Liverpool star was at his brilliant best with a tasty treble. After Philippe Coutinho opened the scoring from Jordi Alba’s pass, Suarez converted a penalty when he was adjudged to have been brought down by Raphael Varane, the spot-kick awarded with the help of VAR.
Marcelo pulled a goal back from close range on 50 minutes.
But Suarez completed his hat-trick with a superb header and a classy chip over Thibaut Courtois after bursting through. Barca added a fifth through Arturo Vidal.
Real were desperate with Wales ace Gareth Bale a forlorn figure.
As for Lopetegui, he looks like a dead man walking.
ODDS-ON TO BE NEXT REAL BOSS: Antonio Conte, Santiago Solari, Arsene Wenger, Guti,
Mauricio Pochettino, Mourinho, Massimiliano Allegri, Jose Bar ABERDEEN RANGERS 1 0
RANGERS captain James Tavernier has apologised to Ibrox fans after his side’s latest Hampden nightmare.
The Glasgow side have now lost on their last six visits to the National Stadium after defeat to Aberdeen in the last four of the Betfred Cup.
That miserable run left skipper Tavernier to hold up his hands.
He said. “I can only apologise on behalf of the lads today to the fans.”
Gers dominated but with top scorer Alfredo Morelos banned they lacked a cutting edge as frontman Umar Sadiq (above, being consoled by Steven Gerrard) got a first start.
Lewis Ferguson’s late header booked Aberdeen’s final place.