Espanyol vs. Real Madrid: Real Proves They Are Ready to Put Turmoil Behind Them

We can now officially close the book on the brief period of time where it looked like Jose Mourihno had lost this squad, and they were crumbling right in front of everyone's eyes. Madrid looked as good as ever while easily dispatching Espanyol, 4-0.

The Turmoil

Real Madrid suffered through a miserable stretch of play. They squeaked past Dinamo Zagreb, 1-0. They followed that up with a 1-0 loss to Levante and then drew Racing Santander, 0-0.

During that stretch, Mourinho took to publicly pointing the finger at Khedira following Madrid's loss to Levante. And it reportedly did not go over well with some of the players.

Here is a report from goal.com:

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"But the decision to point the finger at one of his own players has resulted in a sharp reaction from the first teamers, according to El Pais.

"Sources within the squad told the newspaper that: 'Khedira had obeyed orders' from Mourinho.

"News sources in Catalunya suggest a mass player revolt is in sight as a result of Mourinho's latest outburst, with the players showing the first signs of ire at the coach's media tactics.

"However, Sport has also pointed out that the 'Special One' could seek protection from 'Team Mendes,' the group of players represented by the coach's agent Jorge Mendes. Those include the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Pepe and Ricardo Carvalho."

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This is Madrid's third straight win since the draw with Racing, and they have won those matches by a combined score of 13-2.

Match Highlights

Real controlled this match from start to finish.  Gonzalo Higuain was a fabulous goal-scoring machine. He had a hat-trick. His first goal came in the 17th minute and his last came in the 89th.

This match was close at halftime with Real leading just 1-0, but the way it was going there was little doubt that Real was going to come away victorious. Callejon also managed a goal for himself in the 82nd minute.