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Raul vows better days after Super Cup defeat
MADRID (AFP) - Real Madrid captain Raul says his side can improve after they suffered a disappointing 5-3 loss at home to Sevilla in the second leg of the Spanish Super Cup on Sunday.
"This was our first home game. We know we have to improve and that we can do better for our fans," the 30-year-old told radio Cadena Ser.
"It has been very disappointing to lose in our debut at the stadium this season. We thought we could come back from the adverse score, but we couldn't. It was a complicated match for us," the international midfielder added.
Sevilla's 6-3 aggregate win over the reigning Spanish league champions, with two goals on Sunday from Brazilian midfielder Renato and a hat-trick from Mali striker Frederic Kanoute, has added to doubts over Real's form as the new Liga season nears.
Real, who have overhauled their squad under new German coach Bernd Schuster, headed into the game having lost five of their eight pre-season matches.
"Schuster's Madrid does the ridiculous and loses the Super Cup at home," wrote daily newspaper El Mundo, which added the team played without "soul".
"A historical drubbing by Sevilla at Bernabeu stadium," wrote sports daily Marca while rival paper AS said "Sevilla overwhelmed a very tender Madrid who were full of doubts".
Real Madrid will kick off the new Spanish league season on Saturday when they face city rivals Atletico Madrid who have spent millions in the pre-season on new signings.
"We can't be happy with conceding five goals, but we have to move on from this. Our first league match will be very important and I don't think morale will be low," said Schuster after the loss to Sevilla.
"It's very easy to say that our defence was poor, but it wasn't that bad. There were mistakes in general and that helped our opponent, but I am not worried," he added.
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