| Barcelona berated by local media after Bernabeu defeat |
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| Thursday, 08 May 2008 | |
 MADRID (Reuters) - Barcelona were heavily criticised by the city’s sports press on Thursday after a 4-1 defeat by arch-rivals and champions Real Madrid left them a distant third in the Primera Liga standings. “Shameful” was the headline on sports daily Mundo Deportivo’s Web site while the daily Sport led on a black front page with: “You have dishonoured the Barcelona shirt”. Goals from Raul, Arjen Robben, Gonzalo Higuain and Ruud van Nistelrooy crowned a perfect night of celebration for the home fans on Wednesday, who packed the stadium after Real had clinched the title in Pamplona on Sunday. The defeat left Barca 17 points adrift of Real and seven short of Villarreal, which means they miss out on automatic qualification for the Champions League group stage, with two games left to play. The build-up to the match was dominated by talk of the traditional guard of honour Barca would have to afford to the champions as they took to the pitch. REVOLUTION NEEDED The Madrid-based sports daily Marca had a free glossy pullout poster of the moment in its Thursday edition, but that was the least of the worries for the Catalan press. “The guard of honour wasn’t the low point. What came after was worse,” said daily Sport. “They scored four and it could have been six. The defence was like butter. It isn’t a renovation that’s needed, it is a revolution.” Barca’s players did not try to make excuses. “It will be very difficult to forget,” Brazilian defender Silvinho told reporters. “There was no comparison between the state-of-mind of the two teams. There is no way we can wave a wand to cheer up our fans. We’ll have to do it step by step on the pitch.” Barca coach Frank Rijkaard gave little away on his future, with Spanish media reporting former club captain Pep Guardiola has been lined up to take his place at the end of the season. “The easiest thing to do would be to walk away, but it’s not something I am planning,” the Dutchman said. “I stand with the team especially in the tough moments.” (Writing by Mark Elkington; Editing by Padraic Halpin) |
