It’s been a few days since the 4-0 thrashing that Real Madrid received when they faced Barcelona in El Classico at the Santiago Bernabeu. But will Madrid be able to mentally move past such a huge defeat?

By Connor Orchard

Real Madrid could have gone top of La Liga if they defeated Barcelona in El Classico. Now though, they are six points behind Barca after two goals from Luis Suarez, one from Neymar, and another from Iniesta sealed the deal in one of the most surprising El Classico’s to date.

Isco was sent off for Real Madrid late in the game, and now new rumours are surfacing that the 23-year-old playmaker wants to leave Madrid. Could the Premier League be a possible destination for the Spaniard?

It was harsh; very harsh for Isco to be named as a substitute and not start the game in El Classico. He rightly so, should have started the game in the centre of midfield for Madrid, instead of James Rodriguez. He chose not to join the Spain squad over the international break, because he had his sights set on El Classico, and didn’t want to pick up any injuries that could possibly have seen him miss the biggest game of the season.

He had some spectacular performances during training and his teammates noted that he was well in with the manager.

However, once again Isco came up against the fact that he is not an automatic choice at Real Madrid, and he is starting to think that he never will be. He believes he was good enough to have started against Barcelona.

After the loss, Real Madrid manager Rafa Benitez said this in a post-match interview:

“We need to get over this and focus on the next match as soon as possible. What I’m most concerned about now is getting the team to recover mentally in time for the next match.

With the match now over, we can clearly say that the line-up didn’t work. I pick my teams by trying to manage the group as best as possible. The players who started have enough quality to do better than that. We made mistakes and paid dearly for them. We lost possession a few times and when you do that against a good team you’re made to suffer.

Rather than analysing the game, which of course we will do, what matters most now is lifting the group’s spirits quickly and getting everyone to see the importance of the upcoming fixtures.”

The game was never going to be an easy game for Real Madrid, with the likes of Neymar and Luis Suarez being in some of the best form of their lives, it almost wasn’t even a surprise that the game went the way it did.

And of course, after such a big loss, there were obviously rumors flying about that Rafa Benitez might be sacked by the club. But Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has came out and completely shut-down any talks of that happening.

“He has all our support and confidence. Rafa has only just started his job here. Let him keep working and he will achieve his objectives.”

It’s safe to say that if Real Madrid want to win La Liga this year, or even the Champions League, then they need to move past this dreadful defeat. Which of course they can do, they have one of the strongest teams in the world. Although it is probably easier said than done, as morale will be at an all-time-low, and with the January transfer window just around the corner, we could be seeing a very different Real Madrid lineup by the time February arrives.

As well as writing for EliteSportsNY, I also write for BlueLineStation. I follow and write about the New York Rangers all the way from England, as well as writing about Chelsea FC, the English Premier League and all other things to do with Football. Did I forget to mention my huge love for K-POP?