Spanish press calls Real Madrid's failure 'fiasco of the century'

The Spanish press described Real Madrid's elimination from the Champions League semi-finals as the "fiasco of the century," while praising the performance of home-grown striker Alvaro Morata, who scored the decisive goal for the Italian champions.

Madrid drew 1-1 against Italian Juventus in the second leg on Wednesday at home while losing the first leg 1-2 away at Turin, Italy.

"Fiasco of the Century," Marca headlined on its front page, following up with "Morata prevents Clasico final" against Barcelona, and describing the goal made by Morata, a former Real Madrid player, as the worst possible nightmare, reports Efe.

"Goodbye, boys," Marca titled its article on the clash, stating that the first half of the game was promising but downhill from there, and lamented Madrid's failure to meet rivals FC Barcelona in the final, which would have been the "Grand Clasico."

Morata's goal was wildly praised by the paper, which speculated if Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti would stay with his team next season in light of his statement: "A club has the right to change the coach if they're not happy."

"It was an ill-fated night for Real Madrid, but in particular for one player. Gareth Bale had the best chances to book a place in the final in Berlin for Los Blancos," Marca argued in reference to Bale's numerous missed chances.

The paper hinted that he had no excuse, especially after his agent remarked that his teammates do not pass him the ball enough.

"It had to be Morata," read the headline in AS newspaper, painfully clarifying that Ancelotti's team failed to realise their dream of reaching this year's final.

AS also called into question Ancelotti's future with the team, although no such rumour was confirmed by Real Madrid director Emilio Butragueno after the game.

"Mamma Mia!" Catalan paper Mundo Deportivo exclaimed following the shocking elimination of Real Madrid, recalling that unless a miracle happens in La Liga, Real will finish a disastrous season with a hat-trick of failures in La Liga, Copa Del Rey and the Champions League.

"It's Barcelona v Juventus! Morata dumps Real Madrid out of Champions League," Sport newspaper headlined.

The papers mourned the lost cause of a "Clasico" match in the final, describing Madrid's elimination as a "tri-failure" as they will not win any title this season.

Sport went so far as to say that Real Madrid's elimination was one of the biggest disappointments in their history.

--Indo-Asian news Service

sam/vt