by zarababe » Wed Mar 11, 2009 6:28 pm
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/mar/11/real-madrid-liverpool-press-reaction
"Madrid have hit rock bottom," wrote the newspaper. "They have been there for a while on the institutional side and now they have fallen off a cliff in the sporting arena."
Spanish Press - 'Torres knocked Madrid to the ground and Gerrard buried them' Spanish media pull no punches after Liverpool's 4-0 win
• 'Madrid have fallen off a cliff in the sporting arena'
The Spanish media reacted with a mixture of dismay and disbelief after Liverpool dismantled Real Madrid at Anfield last night to dump Los Blancos out of the Champions League.
"Madrid humiliated in Europe", "Liverpool, white cemetery" and "Madrid crash to earth" were among the headlines after a 4-0 defeat saw the nine-times European champions lose the last-16 tie 5-0 on aggregate. The result means Real have failed to reach the Champions League quarter-finals for a fifth straight year.
The scoreline might have been worse were it not for a string of saves from Iker Casillas in the Real goal and Spain's newspapers did not hold back in their assessments of Juande Ramos's side's performance.
"Liverpool gave a provincial-looking Madrid a lesson in what Europe is," wrote the daily ABC. "Their devastating play made Madrid look like they weren't at the game: no possession, no ideas, no energy and lacking control or width. A stellar Torres knocked Madrid to the ground and Gerrard buried them."
Real's recent 10-match winning streak in La Liga, which ended with Saturday's 1-1 draw at home to city rivals Atlético, was all but forgotten.
El País blamed the Spanish champions' poor showing partly on the club's recent institutional problems which it said urgently needed to be resolved. Real have an interim president following the resignation of Ramón Calderón in a vote-rigging scandal and El Pais said elections must be held sooner rather than later so a new president can breathe life into the club.
"Madrid have hit rock bottom," wrote the newspaper. "They have been there for a while on the institutional side and now they have fallen off a cliff in the sporting arena."
THE BRENDAN REVOLUTION IS UPON US !
KING KENNY.. Always LEGEND !
RAFA.. MADE THE PEOPLE HAPPY !
Miss YOU Phil-Drummer - RIP YNWA

