Becks and Owen off as Real lose

Real Madrid coach Mariano Garcia Remon revealed his decision to substitute David Beckham after 45 minutes of last night's 1-0 home defeat to Sevilla was not due to injury.

Injury had been partly responsible for Beckham spending Saturday's game against Racing Santander on the bench, but the Madrid coach admitted it had no bearing on his decision this time.

"The changes were tactical. There were no injuries, and that is all," said Garcia Remon.

The Real coach was booed by the Santiago Bernabeu supporters when he also replaced Michael Owen with Santiago Solari on the hour.

However, he was not upset by the crowd's reaction. "There is nothing wrong with that," he said. "When the coach does something the public don't like, they boo, and that's all."

The defeat leaves Madrid in fifth, 13 points behind leaders Barcelona.