Benitez not in fear of job loss after Barcelona humiliation

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Madrid, Nov 22 (IANS) Real Madrid coach Rafael Benitez insisted he was not worried about losing his job after watching his side humiliated by arch-rivals FC Barcelona on their home turf.

Two goals from Luis Suarez, one from Neymar and another from Andres Iniesta, on Saturday evening hardly did justice to the way Barcelona outplayed Real Madrid in beating them 4-0 in the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium. After the boos and jeers subsided, Benitez said he was focused on raising the morale of his players following such a painful defeat, reports Xinhua.

“It’s painful for us to lose, and to lose the way we did. What we need to do now is close ranks and work hard. What I’m concerned about is restoring the team’s morale quickly,” said Benitez, who insisted his side had started the game well.

“We faced a good team, we made mistakes and we paid for them. We gave the ball away and that hurts you,” he said, defending his decision to pick Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema.

“We wanted to win the ball back high up the pitch and try to dominate possession, but we failed to do that… What we have to do now is bounce back as quickly as possible. There’s a long way to go yet,” he insisted.

Meanwhile Barcelona coach Luis Enrique was enjoying one of the best nights of his career.

“It’s a great feeling because they’re our main rivals,” he said, adding he was delighted at the win, “because of the way we achieved it.”

However, despite the damage the win did to Madrid, the Barcelona coach didn’t want to rub too much salt into the wound, although he insisted his side had been the better of the two.

“I didn’t see a Real Madrid side on their knees, it’s just that we played at a higher level on every area of the pitch where we wanted to. We were effective up front and solid at the back. The result is more of a testament to how well we played, rather than a reflection of Real Madrid being poor,” said the Barcelona coach.


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