Zidane ahead in blame game as Madrid look back on Clasico collapse

Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane has led the club to five trophies this year but the lasting memory of 2017 will now be a capitulation against Barcelona that all but puts the team out of the title race

Barcelona (dpa) - Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane had the finger of blame pointed at him as the inquest on a 3-0 home defeat to Barcelona began.

"The French coach decided to try to eliminate the effect of Lionel Messi on the game," sports paper Marca said. "Did it work? Definitely not."

Zidane had sacrificed crowd favourite Isco for the more defensive Mateo Kovacic in his team selection Saturday, in the hope that he would stop Sergio Busquets playing out from the back and snuff out the threat of Leo Messi.

But although Kovacic played well in the first half his influenced on Messi and Busquets waned in the second period and it was the latter who set up the second goal.

Marca called the defeat "the worst possible ending to the best possible year" and it will be the fact that Madrid won five trophies in 2017 that will save him from further scrutiny.

But Marca added: "The lack of self-criticism does not help him."

Zidane had said he felt he made no mistakes with the way he lined-up his team.

There was also criticism for not putting Gareth Bale and Marco Asensio on earlier and for putting a defender, Nacho, on when the team were already 2-0 down and with 10-men as the game, and perhaps the league, was slipping away.

Few Madrid players escaped criticism for the defeat that saw the reigning champions slip 14 points behind their big rivals and league leaders.

Karim Benzema had been jeered off in the second half when he was replaced and Sergio Ramos might easily have been sent off for thumping Luis Suarez.

"In Barcelona I'm sure they think I should go to prison like Puigdemont," said Ramos in reference to the former president of the Catalan Parliament who is in exile in Belguim to avoid going into custody in Spain.

"We have to keep going," said Ramos. "This was going to be the cherry on the cake for this year so we are doubly distraught."

Diario AS ran with the headline: "Madrid throw in the towel," despite Ramos and coach Zidane saying that league had not been lost.

The pressure will not just be on the coach but also on the club to make a move in the winter transfer window that opens at the end of the month.

Athletic Bilbao goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga is rumoured to be on the way but supporters want striker reinforcements after once again Madrid failed to take their chances. Benzema has just two goals so far in the league this season.

Barcelona players now go on their holidays until December 30 but South Americans Messi, Luis Suarez and Javier Mascherano have all been told to report back on January 2.

There had been so much made of whether or not Barcelona would give Real Madrid a guard of honour as they walked on to the pitch because of their winning the World Club Cup.

"In the end it was Madrid that gave Barcelona the guard of honour," added Diario AS with another stinging criticism of the way they had surrendered the three points in the most important league game of the season so far.

"Guard of honour to the title," added El Mundo Deportivo.