Spain rue 'night to forget' after 4-0 defeat

Spain striker Fernando Llorente described his side's performance as "awful in every respect" after seeing the world champions crash to a comprehensive 4-0 friendly defeat at the hands of local rivals Portugal.

In a match that was partly used to promote the two countries' joint bid to host the 2018 World Cup, Portugal put the off-field alliance between the two Iberian neighbours firmly to one side to inflict on Spain one of the heaviest defeats in their history.

Portugal had already gone close on a number of occasions before Carlos Martins put the hosts ahead on the stroke of half-time, and then three more goals after the break from visiting defender Sergio Ramos, who put into his own net, Helder Postiga and Hugo Almeida sealed an impressive victory for Paulo Bento's side.

Llorente, who appeared as a 58th-minute replacement for Xabi Alonso, said in AS: "It was a night to forget. We've been awful in every respect. We didn't play the game in the way we needed to. Portugal played with a lot of intensity and it wasn't our day. It's a pity.

"We've been slack and that cannot happen again. This hurts inside and we need to avoid it."

Villarreal playmaker Santi Cazorla added: "Every game is important and nobody likes to lose. There's a mixture of disappointment and sadness, but we need to look on the positive side and try to improve.

"There are games which don't go as you want, but when Spain lose it seems a little worse. The fans are used to seeing Spain win. We hope to improve in the future."