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Manager Santiago Solari rues Real Madrid wastefulness in 'Clasico' defeat to Barcelona

With Vinicius Jr their chief creator, Madrid produced a dominant display at the Santiago Bernabeu but a goal eluded them and they exited the competition staring at a harsh 1-4 aggregate defeat.

Manager Santiago Solari rues Real Madrid wastefulness in 'Clasico' defeat to Barcelona Image Credits: Twitter/@realmadriden

Real Madrid had to accept responsibility for failing to take their chances after a chastening 3-0 defeat to Barcelona in a Copa del Rey semi-final second leg on Wednesday, according to coach Santiago Solari.

With Vinicius Jr their chief creator, Madrid produced a dominant display at the Santiago Bernabeu but a goal eluded them and they exited the competition staring at a harsh 1-4 aggregate defeat.

"Football is also about how clinical you are and while we were committed and played with energy we did not take our chances. We fell with honour, but it's difficult to talk about fairness or injustice in football," Solari told a news conference. 

In contrast, Barcelona were ruthless down the other end, taking the lead against the run of play early in the second half with a strike from Luis Suarez, then doubling their advantage with an own goal from Raphael Varane.

Uruguayan striker Suarez then rounded off Barcelona's victory in style by scoring again with a 'Panenka' penalty.

"They scored with their first shot, their second was an own goal and we couldn't score with our attempts. There's nothing else to add. We gave everything and we played with heart and creativity, but we go home feeling sad because we are not going to the final," added the Argentine coach. 

Madrid have barely any time to dwell on the defeat, as they host the La Liga leaders again on Saturday in what is their last realistic attempt to get back into the title race, as they currently sit third, nine points adrift of the Catalans.

"We hope that some of the shots we missed today go in on Saturday. In football, you have to get back on your feet immediately because the next game is going to cause us problems too," Solari added.