of real madrid 4-0 humiliation Wednesday night's Champions league semi-final second leg handing to Manchester City prompted an emotional reaction in the Spanish media as attention turned to “pathetic, cowardly” coach Carlo Ancelotti.
According to AS, City's masterclass was “enough to make you cry”, while Josep Pedrerol, presenter of Lasexta TV's ‘Chiringuito' sports show, said: “Real are losing because of Ancelotti's pathetic and cowardly approach.”
There was genuine shock at the one-sided nature of the defeat and calls for a complete overhaul of the club's personnel.
Sports paper Marca's front-page headline could hardly be clearer: “A thrashing, the kind that really hurts.” Marca said Real had suffered a “90-minute-long nightmare” at the Etihad.
Rival sports paper AS Karim went with a front-page picture of his face in Benzema's hands and Jose Samano, chief sports writer for El Pais, described the night in Manchester as an “earthquake for Real”.
AS's chief Real Madrid correspondent Tomas Roncero said, “I cannot forgive the impression Real has made in the defeat.”
“Beat Madrid 4-0 and you have to thank [Thibaut] Courtois was no more.
Guillem Balag, one of the most prominent Spanish football journalists, wrote on Twitter that: “Few teams in the history of the sport have reached this level.”
When asked about his future at Real Madrid, Ancelotti said there was no doubt about the latter and club president Florentino Pérez indicated his support for the coach.
But Predrag Mijatovic, who won LaLiga and the Champions League during his spell at the club, said: “I believe we can clearly talk about a cycle that has come to an end.”
Like many other pundits, Mijatovic suggested that Carlo Ancelotti's time was up.
“Tonight showed that Real Madrid must think about the future, starting with the coach and the players,” he said.
The team was not good; The opponent was much better. Now we have to plan for this summer and for the future.”
The former Montenegrin forward said Real needed a forward and a full-back, but added that Luka Modric and Toni Kroos, both substituted in the second half, should still play a role next season.
Guardiola: ‘The treble is now – we can think about it'
by James Ducker
Pep Guardiola tells his players to “visualise” winning the treble after a great performance in his seven-year reign as Manchester City manager.
City beat Real Madrid 4-0 at the Etihad Stadium to reach the Champions League final for the second time in three years.
inter Milan Now stand between them and an elusive first European Cup in Istanbul on 10 June, when Guardiola's men could become only the second English side in history to win the treble.
If they beat Chelsea on Sunday, City will win a fifth Premier League title in six seasons – assuming Arsenal don't hand them the trophy after losing at Nottingham Forest the day before – and Manchester United in the FA Cup final next month. Also faced
And Guardiola has urged his players to seize the chance to make history.
“We are there now and the players can imagine it, imagine it,” he said. “We are three games away. One in each competition. We can do it.
“We need to win one more game in the Premier League, then we have our neighbors in the cup and a Champions League final against an Italian side.
“The pleasure of being there and playing against Inter Milan is incomparable and we are going to enjoy this opportunity.”
of city great win over real – which Guardiola described as the “highlight” of his tenure at the club – came 12 months after a dramatic late semi-final collapse at the Bernabeu.
He said, “We still had that pain in our stomach from last year and we took it out today… We had energy after so much pain last year.”
“Last season was very rough and tough when we played the same as today and I remember Toni Kroos gave an interview saying they could have lost 10-1 or 10-2. [in the first leg] in Etihad.
“Kroos is one of the best players I have ever seen and coached and when he says that it means that we were there and it was really hard to lose the way we lost. In that moment we had to swallow poison. But football and sports always give you another chance.
“When the draw was Madrid, I said ‘yes, I want it'. I wanted it because I think today was everything – the energy we had for a year, we were criticized as players when we We lost when we lost because it was football.
“Today it was there and I am happy for the whole organization – the president, the owner, the staff and especially for all the players because we accepted defeat and today we were there.”One year later, we are in the final of the Champions League . Football and life always give you chances if you don't give up.”
Real coach Carlo Ancelotti acknowledged that his team had been well beaten, but expressed no concerns over his future as manager. “Nobody doubts me, the president has been very clear two weeks ago, there is no doubt about my stay,” he said.