Under-fire Carlo Ancelotti has rued his "unrecognisable" Real Madrid team after they suffered humiliation at the hands of Barcelona in Sunday's El Clasico.
Los Blancos were thrashed 4-0 at the Bernabeu, the first time Barcelona have won an El Clasico in La Liga for three years. Ancelotti's men had gone into the derby 15 points clear of their fierce rivals, but looked nothing like the dominant league leaders their position in the table would suggest.
A goal in each half from the transformed Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang did the main damage, with Ronaldo Araujo and Ferran Torres also on the scoresheet. Aubameyang broke the deadlock just before the half-hour mark by losing his marker to head in at the near post following great work on the wing from Ousmane Dembele.
Dembele also provided the assist for Araujo, with the defender rising highest at a corner to power home a header. Just two minutes into the second-half Torres made Madrid's humiliation certain by firing into the top corner, before Aubameyang chipped in his second soon after.
The hammering has shattered Madrid's optimism following the remarkable comeback win in the Champions League. But Ancelotti refused to make excuses for the way his Los Blancos team totally collapsed against the Catalan giants.
"We were unrecognisable, everything has gone wrong. I have told the players that it was my fault. The break is good now, because we can get players back. I don't think it's going to affect our mood. I've failed in my approach. It can happen once, twice I'm not usually wrong," he said.
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"We feel sorry for the fans and we have to look forward. I tried to push higher and it didn't work out. It's my fault. It's hard because it's a Clasico, because losing against Barcelona hurts. You have to be calm and calm, recover the injured. We're sorry, but we don't have to make a drama.
"We were looking for more control of the ball, pressing higher, but after the goal, 0-1, the plan didn't work out and they hurt us. The approach wasn't good. Barça played better and deserved to win, but the defeat does not sink us. We have to look forward and have balance, think that we have a nine-point advantage."
To make matters worse for Ancelotti, the win appeared to signal Barca's return to being a La Liga force, with veteran Gerard Pique tweeting after the game: "We are back". The Italian boss though, encouraged fans to be hopeful despite the dire result.
"I don't understand it, but I'm not going into it, because I don't want to make excuses. We played very badly and we approached the game very badly. We have time to gather energy and prepare for the last two months of the season to win titles," he added.
"The balance so far we would have signed it: nine points ahead of the second and in the quarterfinals of the Champions League. I'm very sad about the defeat, I'm sorry for the fans, but I have to have balance."
