Real Madrid have sacked Julen Lopetegui as manager after four and a half months in charge at the Bernabeu.
The Spanish manager has left Santiago Bernabeu following a 5-1 defeat for Los Blancos against Barcelona at Camp Nou on Sunday
Real have failed to win in the league since beating Espanyol on September 22, losing to Sevilla, Alaves, Levante and drawing with Atletico Madrid, before Sunday’s 5-1 thrashing by Barcelona at the Nou Camp.
Real, Champions League winners for the past three years, are ninth in La Liga after their worst start since 2001-02
Ex-player Santiago Solari, coach of B team Castilla will “provisionally replace” Lopetegui who has lost two jobs in the space of less than five months.
He was fired as coach of the Spain national team the day before the World Cup started in June, due to having planned his move to Real without informing the Spanish Football Federation.
Lopetegui took a training session on Monday but his fate was confirmed following a board meeting.
Announcing his sacking on Monday night, Real Madrid said: “This decision aims to change the dynamics of the first team, when all the objectives of this season are still achievable.
“The Board of Directors understands that there is great disproportion between the quality of the staff of Real Madrid and the results obtained to date.
“The club thanks Julen Lopetegui and all his technical team for their effort and work and wishes them the best in their professional career.”
Lopetegui arrived at the Santiago Bernabeu in the summer but his tenure has lasted only 14 matches.
Interim coach Solari, aged 42, is a former Argentina midfielder who played for Real Madrid in the early 2000s and helped the team win the 2002 Champions League. He also played for Atletico Madrid and Inter Milan.
He had been coaching Real Madrid B since 2016, taking over not long after Zidane left to coach the main squad.
