LONDON (Reuters) - Spain's 3-2 home defeat to England in the UEFA Champions League on Monday has brought down optimism about new coach Henri Enrique only, but has brought back unhappy memories of the early exit of the last World Cup in Russia.
England advanced 3-0 in the first half and the hosts were booed by fans in the semi-finals in Sevilla.
Spain fought and scored twice, but that was not enough to avoid the first loss since Luis Enrique took charge in July.
The morale of the new coach has risen after appearing modestly in the World Cup, where the national team went out to the home side in the knockout stage.
"The doubts that seemed to have ended after the team's march in Russia have returned," the Marca newspaper wrote on Tuesday.
"The team suffered a blow from reality and brought it back for three months."
The Spanish newspaper AS reported that Spain deserved a penalty but criticized the performance. "The midfield was lazy and the defense was too advanced and was playing suicidal," the AS newspaper said.
Spain defender Sergio Ramos scored the second goal for his country in stoppage time, but was criticized by the media.
"One Real Madrid fan in the office said he needed only one minute to play to see which version of Sergio Ramos was showing up," Juan Carlos Diaz wrote in the Marca newspaper.
"When he plays in Sevilla (his hometown) he does not usually do well, he makes mistakes more than his contributions in a positive way."
"It seems that his mind is listening to one phrase, 'You are the best Sergio you are the best.' It may be too late to say that now, but perhaps people should not say so much."
Javier Tepas, head of the Spanish league, confirmed that the crowd had also caused the country to be frustrated by the booing of England's national anthem.
"The national anthem represents the highest level of noble sentiment for many, it must always be respected, we must apologize to England and not repeat what happened yesterday," Teppas wrote on Twitter.
