Shambolic Real out to repay fans against Juventus

Real Madrid's embarrassing 5-1 home defeat by Real Mallorca has left them with a debt to repay their fans in Tuesday's Champions League clash with Juventus, according to defender Michel Salgado.

Real's two-and-a-half-year unbeaten home league record was shattered on Saturday as Mallorca, inspired by former Real player Samuel Eto'o, scored five times in the second half.

Defeat for Real was by no means fatal to their title ambitions, with the side still a point clear at the top with six games left to play.

Real's half-hearted performance was so inferior to what fans have come to expect, though, that the players were whistled from the field at the end of the game.

"We have to give the fans something to smile about against Juventus on Tuesday because they didn't deserve to see that," Salgado told reporters.

"A performance like that damages the image of the team and we have to improve. It was a strange game but I don't think it was a case of over-confidence."

Real captain Fernando Hierro was singled out for criticism in the second half, when the European champions were comprehensively outplayed by Mallorca.

"The whistles are understandable," Hierro said. "As captain, and as the player who's been here the longest, I accept responsibility for the protests."

"I feel bad, like the rest of the team, but the important thing now is to pick ourselves up, get back to training and concentrate on Tuesday's game against Juventus, when we'll have to give it everything."

"It's better to lose a game like this than against Juventus in a Champions League semi-final."