Cannavaro: Madrid Need Something Extra For CL

Real Madrid suffered their worst defeat in the Champions League when they were decimated 4-0 by Liverpool in the second leg of the last 16 to slump out of the competition at this very same stage for the fifth season running.

Defender Fabio Cannavaro knew precisely how things went horribly pear-shaped for his side as he gave a frank assessment of what went wrong not just in last night’s game, but the key problem for the team in the entire competition.

“We started the match badly. Liverpool did not defend their 1-0 [first leg] lead like we expected them to and they attacked us from the start. That put a lot of pressure on the team,” he said in a post-match interview with Canal Plus.

“But the first 20 minutes were the most bizarre start to a match I have ever seen. There were two things: there was the penalty and in their first goal, there was a clear foul on Pepe. After that, it became very difficult for us."

“It is not normal for a club like Madrid to be eliminated in the last 16 five years in a row. But at this level in the Champions League, you need something more."

“You have to give more, be stronger and play more as a team because when you’re up against a side like Liverpool , they are always more accustomed to these types of matches than we are.”

But Cannavaro encouraged his team-mates to keep their chin up and focus their attention back on the Primera Division.

“We are all very upset because we had a lot of hope and desire to do well in this game, mainly for our traveling fans,” he said.

“But we must pick ourselves up straight away and we have to realise that we have another difficult game on Saturday and we cannot lose more ground in La Liga.”

Los Blancos will be in for yet another intimidating road trip when they travel up north to the volatile Basque country to taken on Athletic Bilbao at San Mames.