'Wembley nightmare' - How the Spanish press reacted to Real Madrid's defeat to Tottenham

Real Madrid’s Wembley drubbing by Spurs was lead news in Spain this morning.

Sports newspaper Marca published a front-page picture of Real Madrid goalkeeper Kiko Casilla face down on the ground and crestfallen team-mate Nacho on his backside beside him after Dele Alli’s opening goal under the headline: “All The Alarm Bells Are Ringing.”

Chief sports writer Jesus Sanchez admitted the north London side had “destroyed” the defending champions with a “fantastic second half where they imposed their speed and finish to rip open the fragile seams of a team that was up until very recently the envy of Europe” but is now “vulgar and accessible”.

Colleague Jose Felix Diaz said two-goal hero Alli had been “decisive” and said he could look forward to “days of glory” along with the likes of “unstoppable” Harry Kane, while Madrid faced storms ahead.

AS, Spain’s second most-read sports paper, published the same front-page photo, with the hard-hitting headline “Wembley Nightmare.”

Like Marca, it steered clear of calling for the head of Zinedine Zidane but AS director Alfredo Relano admitted in an editorial several stains had blemished the Frenchman’s designer suit and the drubbing by Spurs had left him with “one of the ugliest”.

The paper dubbed Alli a “master” and Kane “a fantastic striker and real gem” even when he doesn’t score because he “opens up space, opens up defences, combines passes and fights for the ball”.

Barcelona-based sports daily Mundo Deportivo also put the Spurs win on its front page, rubbing salt into the wound of the Catalan club’s eternal rivals with the headline “Madrid Routed”.

It added in an editorial: “Madrid’s thrashing has set all the alarm bells ringing. Zinedine Zidane can no longer be complacent in the face of evidence showing the defensive, midfield and front lines are malfunctioning.”

It titled its match report “Total Crisis” and claimed Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino had given his counterpart another “tactical drubbing” with a rival which looked like it was still suffering from a Halloween hangover.

Spanish state broadcaster TVE, normally more more moderate than the sports papers, said: “Spurs crushed Real Madrid.”

And sports writer Julian Ruiz, in a piece for respected newspaper El Mundo titled “Wembley or Waterloo, Mr Zidane?” called the Frenchman mediocre and his players “twenty-something millionaires unable to assimilate their fame, money and pride”.

Predicting a new coup by Real Madrid president Florentino Perez, he said: “I don’t know what Florentino is thinking at the moment, but I suppose the president must have a project of revitalisation, at a time of severe catharsis, with a team in a footballing coma, with no character and with a lot of heart arrhythmia in the way it is playing.”

El Mundo’s competitor, El Pais, said Alli, Kane and Christian Eriksen, scorer of Tottenham’s third goal, had left Real Madrid “groggy”. It said: “Alli is a very intelligent player and very delicate in everything he does. He was like a wasp for Real Madrid everywhere he went.”