David Beckham and Michael Owen were both substituted as Real Madrid lost 1-0 at home against Sevilla. England captain Beckham failed to make an impact in the first 45 minutes and was taken off at half-time.
Real coach Mariano Garcia Remon said the change was "tactical" and not as a result of injury.
Owen started the game instead of Ronaldo and put in a lively display before also being replaced as Real went down to Cesar Julio Baptista's goal.
Garcia Remon was booed by the home fans when he brought on Santiago Solari for Owen after an hour.
But Remon said: "There is nothing wrong with that. The crowd didn't like the change, and that's that.
"When the coach does something the public don't like, they boo, and that's all."
The defeat leaves Real in fifth place, 13 points behind leaders Barcelona, who beat Levante 2-1 on Tuesday.
Remon admits his side's title chances are fading fast and added: "It was bad from the first minute until the last.
"We left a very poor impression. We couldn't do anything, and the reality is we did very badly.
"It will be very difficult to catch Barca. The distance is getting bigger all the time, and it is a very big gap."
MMIX
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