The Rayo Vallecano manager, Paco Jémez, has claimed the 10-2 defeat to Real Madrid on Sunday has left his side feeling “abused” and that it represents a damning result for Spanish football in general.
Real fell 2-1 behind at the Bernabéu in a Madrid derby, but after Rayo’s Tito was sent off for a wild challenge on Toni Kroos, the visitors collapsed, conceding nine goals and having another player, Raúl Baena, also see red. Gareth Bale scored four, Karim Benzema hit a hat-trick and Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice to leave Jémez feeling distraught.
“We feel humiliated and abused. This doesn’t benefit Madrid, or us or Spanish football. We’ve lost a lot of credibility,” the 45-year-old told AS. “Nobody won, we all lost. It’s shameful, a disgrace. These are things which happen and I hope that we don’t see it happening again anywhere else.”
“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen anything so weird and embarrassing. My first reaction is to give my support to the players who made a great effort today. It’s difficult to console them because they feel completely humiliated and trampled on. I cannot be any clearer than that – whoever wants to understand me will understand.
“The majority of the people here didn’t like what they were seeing,” continued Jémez. “How can something like this happen in ‘the best league in the world’? It shouldn’t happen anywhere. There were moments when it just seemed surreal. And now when you see blokes crying buckets, it’s not because they put 10 goals past us but for what went on.”
Real’s manager, Rafa Benítez, responded to Jémez’s comments, suggesting “there have been plenty of games where we have been on the receiving end of situations that didn’t benefit us” – possibly alluding the Real’s 1-0 defeat to Villareal the previous Sunday.
