Barcelona thrash Real Madrid in 'El Clasico', Julen Lopetegui future in doubt

Barcelona have increased Real Madrid’s woes with a stunning 5-1 thrashing of Real Madrid in the ‘El Clasico’ encounter in the La Liga on Monday. The win for Barcelona extended their dominance at the top of the league while Real Madrid slipped further down to ninth position.

Luis Suarez’s magnificent hat-trick was backed by some wonderful goals from Arturo Vidal and Phillippe Coutinho. The result mounted pressure on Real Madrid and questions have been raised on the future of Julen Lopetegui as coach.

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Speaking after the end of the match, Sergio Ramos, the skipper said the Real Madrid players have not been told anything. “We have to wait, they have not told us anything.  These are decisions not made by us so we have to keep a cool head, look at ourselves and try to change things to get better results,” Ramos said.

However, there are reports from the Spanish press that Lopetegui might be sacked and that Antonio Conte, who coached Chelsea in the Premier League, might be roped in to head the team.

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Several Spanish media reports said Real Madrid president Florentino Perez left the match without addressing the team following the disastrous loss. It is believed that Lopetegui bid goodbye to the team after the match in case he was replaced.

The European champions have now managed only one victory from their last six matches and are now in danger of slipping away in the race for the La Liga title.