BENITEZ ACCEPTS BLAME FOR BARCELONA MAULING: I CHOSE THE WRONG XI

Luis Enrique's side proved too much for their
rivals to handle at the Bernabeu as a 4-0
thumping moved the Catalans six points clear of
Madrid at the top of the table
Real Madrid boss Rafael Benitez has accepted the
blame for his side's 4-0 humbling at the hands of
Barcelona, insisting that he selected the wrong
starting XI for the match.
Two goals from Luis Suarez and one each for
Neymar and Andres Iniesta ensured the Catalans
claimed a valuable three points to move six points
clear of their fierce rivals at the top of the Liga
table.
And while Benitez is adamant that the entire
team must be held responsible for their collapse
against Luis Enrique's side, he has revealed that
he selected the wrong XI for the match.
TIME TO GO? Should Benitez be sacked by
Madrid?
He told reporters: "Whenever we win or lose, we
all have a part in it. It hurts so much to lose
against Barcelona, but we need to improve and
think about the next game to get points in the
league. The team's attitude has not disappointed
me. It was a good team, we made mistakes and
we paid. We talked at half-time that we could get
into the game but it became increasingly difficult
to overcome.
"It has not gone as we wanted. We wanted to
push, attack, get the ball fast. We have made
some mistakes and we have paid for it. We
wanted players of quality and experience. After
the game, I must say I chose the wrong XI. This
group has the quality to do it better than we did.
We are all responsible and we must find a
reaction.
"James? Today is not the day to make individual
analysis'. We need to get together with the group
and prepare for the next matches. We have made
mistakes. We lost balls against a good team and
that hurts you. The most important is to recover
the group, to show them that we have a
responsibility to the fans."