Once you have subscribed we will use the email you provided to send you the newsletter. You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link at the bottom of the newsletter email. Real Madrid endured a miserable Sunday afternoon at the Camp Nou, suffering a 5-1 defeat at the hands of fierce rivals Barcelona. Philippe Coutinho broke the deadlock in the 11th minute before Luis Suarez doubled Barça’s advantage on the half-hour mark. Marcelo pulled a goal back for Madrid five minutes after the break but Suarez made the scoreline emphatic by completing his hat-trick. Arturo Vidal then chipped in with a fifth goal before full-time. The result piles further pressure on the shoulders of Madrid boss Julen Lopetegui, who is now likely to be sacked and replaced over the coming days following an awful start to the 2018-19 campaign. Madrid currently find themselves ninth in La Liga after 10 games, having lost four games already. They even had a negative goal difference following their heavy defeat against Ernesto Valverde’s side. Barça’s victory was made all the more impressive by the fact Lionel Messi wasn’t playing. The Argentina international was out of action with an arm injury and watched on from the stands alongside his eldest son, Thiago. This was the first Clasico that neither Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo had featured since 2007 - and it was Madrid who suffered most. Football fans make same point about Bale Gareth Bale was the player Madrid had pinned their hopes of replacing Ronaldo as the main man at the Bernabeu. But the Welshman flattered to deceive in his Madrid’s first Clasico of the post-Ronaldo era. With Madrid 3-1 down and in desperate need of goals, Bale was subbed off for Marco Asensio. Following his disappointing performance, many football fans have made the same point about Bale on social media: he’s not quite good enough to fill the huge void left by Ronaldo. Then again, who is? Moreover, they remember how some people were saying Ronaldo was holding Bale back, and how the former Tottenham star would flourish once his teammate had left. Those claims now look rather laughable. Of course, there’s no guarantee the scoreline would have been any different had Ronaldo played. Ronaldo was involved in a 5-0 defeat while playing in a Clasico during his spell at the Bernabeu. Things just aren’t working for Lopetegui, who is likely to find himself out of a job very soon. News Now - Sport News<doc-sep>Barcelona completely controlled the first half and were ahead at the break thanks to Philippe Coutinho's strike and Luis Suarez's penalty. Marcelo got the visitors back into it early in the second period, but Madrid then fell apart again as Suarez added two more to grab a hat trick and Arturo Vidal completed the 5-1 hammering with a late header. Los Blancos are now ninth in the La Liga table and seven points behind leaders Barca. Positives Not too many, but Madrid at least reacted at the break, showing pride and fight for a spell. The 3-5-2 shape in the second half looked for a while like a solution to their recent defensive horror shows, although nobody was thinking anything positive by full-time. Negatives The first-half performance was just awful, with the team lacking shape, energy and ideas. After a decent 20 minutes after half-time they were again completely shapeless by the end. Manager rating out of 10 4 -- Julen Lopetegui's starting XI was ruthlessly exposed by Barca in the first half, although his switch to 3-5-2 at the break immediately paid off with a goal. Madrid's problems are not all his fault, but he must take responsibility for a really poor showing all round, and surely his short reign as Blancos coach is now over. Player ratings (1-10; 10 = best. Players introduced after 70 minutes get no rating) GK Thibaut Courtois, 6 -- Not at fault for any of the goals, almost got his hand to Luis Suarez's penalty for 2-0, and made a decent stop late on to stop Barca from reaching six. DF Nacho Fernandez, 5 -- Horribly exposed on the right of the defence against Jordi Alba's pace for Barca's opening goal, was marginally more comfortable as one of a back three in the second half. DF Raphael Varane, 3 -- The 2018 World Cup winner's calamity club season continued with a clumsy penalty concession for Barca's second goal. Could well have been hauled off even without the adductor muscle problem which led to his half-time replacement by Lucas Vazquez. DF Sergio Ramos, 4 -- Lacked composure along with the rest of his teammates in the first 45 minutes, and was at least partly at fault for each of the three late goals conceded. DF Marcelo, 5 -- Scored his third goal in three games soon after being switched to wing-back at the break, then limped off with a suspected hamstring injury picked up trying a dramatic back-heel pass. MF Casemiro, 4 -- Chasing shadows in the first half as Barca dominated and was not at all comfortable at centre-back after the tactical change. MF Toni Kroos, 4 --One of Madrid's many playmakers who were unable to influence things in the first half, with even his usually accurate passing looking off. MF Luka Modric, 3 -- Completely overshadowed by his fellow Croatian Ivan Rakitic when Barca were so on top, and missed a golden chance for 2-2 when pinging a free shot off the post from 18 yards. MF Isco, 5 -- Back between his centre-backs early on trying to get Madrid playing, and among those who inspired the mini-comeback early in the second half before fading right out of it again. FW Gareth Bale, 4 -- Looked the most annoyed at how things were going as Madrid fell Behind and was booked for one late challenge working back. Never really threatened to get on the scoresheet and could not complain about being withdrawn with 15 minutes left. FW Karim Benzema, 6 -- Madrid's most likely forward to score throughout -- volleyed one half-chance too high with the game scoreless, and sent a back post Substitutes DF Lucas Vazquez, 7 -- Lucas' introduction at wing-back helped swing the game back in Madrid's direction for a spell -- one cross led to the first goal, and another almost brought an equaliser for Benzema. FW Marco Asensio, N/R -- Replaced Bale with a quarter hour left and ended up at left wing-back chasing forlornly back trying to stop the goals from flying in. FW Mariano, N/R -- Last throw of the dice late on, barely touched the ball.<doc-sep>Get the latest news, analysis and interviews Invalid Email Something went wrong, please try again later. Sign up Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Wales superstar Gareth Bale has received fierce criticism on social media after Real Madrid's El Clasico drubbing by rivals Barcelona. Luis Suarez's hat-trick inspired the Catalonia club to a 5-1 victory at Camp Nou with an ineffectual Bale replaced with 15 minutes to go by the vistors. Philippe Countinho and Arturo Vidal were also on target for Barcelona, with Marcelo the only scorer for Madrid. (Image: 2018 Getty Images) It was the first El Clasico since 2007 not to feature either Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi and Barcelona's collective brilliance easily won the day as they took a firm grip on Spain's biggest rivalry. After the match, as well as under-fire boss Julen Lopetegui, Los Blancos fans centred their anger on Bale who has been unable to fill the sizeable shoes left by Ronaldo since his summer departure to Juventus. This is what they said on social media... Bale has been missing for his country with injury problems lately, though is expected to be available for November games against Denmark and Albania. It remains to be seen how long Lopetegui stays in his job, though with Bale linked with a summer exit, a change in manager could also impact his own future at the Santiago Bernabeu.<doc-sep>Valdano: Bale's price tag has created a fantasy that he is a world superstar LaLiga Santander - Real Madrid Unhappy with the Welshman The Clasico fallout continues this Monday morning and Jorge Valdano has hit out at the Real Madrid players after their humiliation on Sunday, taking particular aim at Gareth Bale. Real Madrid fell 5-1 at the Camp Nou and Valdano believes the big players should have stepped forward. 'We continue to measure Bale based on his price," he said to Radio MARCA and Onda Cero's 'El Transistor' programme. "His price tag has created a fantasy that he is a world superstar. "But the last five years don't correspond to what Real Madrid paid for him, even if every season he is applauded for scoring the goal of the year." The criticism didn't stop there, and Valdano went on. "After seven minutes Bale left Jordi Alba alone," he added. "At first they [star players] respect the tactics, but then their nature is shown. "They think they have the authority to do what they want even if it goes against the collective." Valdano expressed surprise that Real Madrid are looking to appoint Antonio Conte, and believes Roberto Martinez would be a better fit. "The coach should be based on the players you have," he said. "Immature teams need authoritative coaches and mature teams need friendly coaches. "Martinez seems a better idea. "I think it would be a better fit for Real Madrid." Having been a player, coach and director at the club, Valdano certainly knows what he's talking about when it comes to managerial appointments.<doc-sep>
The Wales forward arrived in the Spanish capital for a then world record fee of 85 million pounds in 2013 and was seen by club President Florentino Perez as the long-term replacement for Cristiano Ronaldo. MADRID - Real Madrid coach Julen Lopetegui is likely to pay for the team’s poor start to the season, but Spanish media have also criticised the club’s players and Gareth Bale, in particular. The Wales forward arrived in the Spanish capital for a then world record fee of 85 million pounds in 2013 and was seen by club President Florentino Perez as the long-term replacement for Cristiano Ronaldo. Despite moments of brilliance, like his overhead kick against Liverpool in last season’s Champions League final, the Bernabeu faithful have never taken Bale to their hearts with injury problems and a perceived lack of integration into the side often used as sticks to beat him with. Sunday’s Clasico against arch-rivals Barcelona was the first since 2007 not to feature Ronaldo or Lionel Messi and many Real fans were hoping Bale would step up. But it was Barca’s Luis Suarez who stole the headlines with a hat-trick and Bale was substituted as Real chased a way back into a game they lost 5-1. “We keep looking at Bale because of his price tag and that has created this illusion that he’s some sort of world superstar, but the last five years aren’t reflective what Madrid paid for him,” Jorge Valdano, the former Real player and sporting director, said on Spanish radio station Onda Cero. “Bale was the one in charge of tracking Jordi Alba (for Barcelona’s first goal) but after seven minutes his concentration was gone. Alba was on his own down that flank. “At the start of the game, the players respected the system and their instructions, but then they do what comes naturally to them, like Bale did, and they think they have the authority to do whatever they like and that can go against the collective.” AS newspaper cited Bale’s failure to track Alba as the beginning of the end while Marca columnist Jose Felix Diaz suggested Bale went missing when his side needed him most. “It’s not the day for blaming one player, rather all of them, but the Welshman was the one who was supposed to lead this side and show character – but he just resigned. He looked like he couldn’t cope with the stage or the pressure,” Diaz wrote. “I wrote a few weeks ago that Bale was showing he had what it took to become the leader that he hid when Ronaldo was around, but I need to take that back. He’s picked up injuries and disappeared. His morale is fragile. It’s a crying shame because of his incredible potential.” With another new coach set to arrive at the Bernabeu, it is a case of now or never for Bale to show he can be Real’s main man.