Real Madrid boss Rafael Benitez: 'Crushing defeat hurts deeply'

Real Madrid boss Rafael Benitez has conceded that he and his players are deeply "hurt" by their 4-0 hammering at the hands of Barcelona in El Clasico.

Luis Suarez put the Catalan club ahead in the 11th minute and Neymar doubled his side's advantage before the break. Marcelo had the chance to bring Real back into the game in the early stages of the second half, but he spurned his opening, which allowed Andres Iniesta to put the game beyond Benitez's men.

Suarez netted a fourth goal for Barcelona 16 minutes from time to compound the misery for Real, and Benitez has admitted that he has work to do to help his team recover from their crushing defeat.

He told reporters: "Whenever we win and whenever we draw we all have a role. Of course it hurts, it hurts a lot to lose like this. Now I just want to pick the players up for the next game.

"It wasn't a question of attitude. We were up against a very good side and we paid for our mistakes. Marcelo's chance at the start of the second half was a key moment.

"If we'd score we'd have been back in the game. We paid for our mistakes and the game got progressively more difficult."

Barcelona moved six points clear of Real at the top of La Liga as a result of their win.