Luxemburgo stands firm despite Real's dismal run

Real Madrid coach Vanderlei Luxemburgo stood his ground and promised to turn things around after his side slumped to their third defeat in a week against Espanyol.

Sunday's 1-0 loss at Montjuic followed a 3-2 home defeat by Celta Vigo the previous weekend and a 3-0 drubbing by Lyon in the Champions League last Tuesday.

With just three points from their first three Primera Liga games, the nine-times European champions are 15th in the table.

"I have lived through worse situations than this and overcome them," Luxemburgo said after Sunday's game.

The spotlight has fallen on Luxemburgo's tactics, however, rather than on his expensively assembled squad - the club spent almost 90 million euros ($110.1 million) on new signings in the close season.

The Brazilian's insistence on playing through the centre of the pitch, without natural width in the side, has come in for heavy criticism in the Spanish press who believe his system is stopping the players expressing themselves.

The 53-year-old is unlikely to follow the path of Jose Antonio Camacho, who walked out on the club after a similarly poor start to the campaign last season, but accepted the need for swift action.

"We have to accept the criticism and need to carry on working hard because these things happen in football," he said.

"We mustn't lose face and need to put things right quickly."

Luxemburgo and his players believe referee Julian Rodriguez Santiago played a central role in Espanyol's goal, which came after Daniel Jarque headed home Ivan de la Pena's free-kick 22 minutes from time.

Referee's indecision

Just after De la Pena struck his free-kick, players claim the referee blew for an infringement in the area before Jarque scored.

"Everyone saw the referee signal a penalty and, after they had scored, two Espanyol players went to ask what had happened," said Real right-back Michel Salgado.

"The referee has lied if he says he didn't blow."