Guillem Balague: Rafa Benitez will probably be sacked

Sky Sports journalist Guillem Balague says Real Madrid boss Rafa Benitez will likely be sacked in the wake of the defeat to Barcelona.

Los Blancos were thrashed 4-0 on Saturday night at the Santiago Bernabeu in front of a horrified 80,000 fans who jeered the players off at the end. Luis Suarez netted twice while Neymar and Andres Iniesta scored in an emphatic win for the La Liga champions.

Real were all over the place and were totally outplayed. At times the defensive performance could best be described as amateur while the midfield was non-existant.

Balague, an expert on Spanish football, said it was the manner of the performance that will likely have consequences for Benitez, who was only appointed in the summer.

“There is no way whatsoever that this kind of performance – we’re not even talking about the result – but the performance, will have no consequences. It has to have consequences. That’s how Real Madrid works. That means of course that Florentino Perez will probably get rid of the manager, and if that’s the case, what is next? Yet another manager,” he said.

And he added: “This is a problem for Real Madrid that will not change unless the whole idea and whole philosophy changes.

“The business plan is brilliant – they’re very, very rich. The football plan is very poor, and under Florentino Perez they have won one league in seven years, which suggests that his idea of putting big names on the pitch does not work.

“Of course, Rafa is not the only one to blame, but it’s almost much easier to get rid of the manager.”