Real Madrid crashed out of the UEFA Champions League at the quarter final stage for their worst performance in the competition for five years as they lost 2-1 to Arsenal at the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, to head out 5-1 on aggregate to the Gunners. Bukayo Saka made up for a missed penalty in the first-half by chipping Thibaut Courtois to give his team the lead in the second, but Vinícius Júnior hit back shortly after as he pounced to score into an empty net after a high press. Gabriel Martinelli then secured the win on the night with another in injury-time, again chipping Courtois on the break.
Three answers
1. Could there be a remontada?
It’s fair to say that if this were anyone other than Real Madrid, there probably wouldn’t even have been talk of a possible remontada. The fact that it was Real Madrid, at the Bernabéu of all places, made it a spectacle and gave Madridistas real hope that if anyone could turn it around. It would be this club. The issue perhaps lies in that very sentence. The hopes of a remontada were built around what this club is, rather than this team. The leaders of previous generations have moved on, and only Luka Modrić remains, albeit on the bench. The Croatian actually set a new record for most Champions League appearances from an outfield player for Real Madrid with 134 with his brief cameo, but even in spite of that, the lack of that character and leadership on the field was evident. Perhaps in part, that’s why Ancelotti opted for David Alaba in defence, to bring a wise head into the equation. Whatever the game plan was, it didn’t work. While Vini and Mbappé brought energy and drive in the final third early on, there was nobody stepping up to dictate the tempo or to calm the nerves as they grew. Without that, a remontada became increasingly impossible.
2. Would Carlo Ancelotti stick or twist at full-back?
The decision to go with Fede Valverde and David Alaba at full-back in the first leg was the source of some criticism for Carlo Ancelotti. Alaba struggled up against the pace and energy of Bukayo Saka, while Valverde’s presence was missed in midfield. Here, he changed his stakes, moving the Uruguayan back into the middle, but he opted to stick with Alaba ahead of Fran García, who was expected in many parts to have the starting role at left-back. It was an approach which was neither conservative nor gung-ho. The fact that Alaba’s first involvement was to take out Saka and earn himself a yellow card on just four minutes didn’t help matters. On the other flank, Lucas Vázquez played so high that he looked more like a winger, with Valverde, on the right in midfield, having to drop back and cover him. It raised the question that if this was the intention all along, was Lucas ahead of Brahim Díaz or Arda Güler in the pecking order?
3. How decisive would this night be for Carlo Ancelotti’s future?
When asked this question in his pre-match press conference, Ancelotti responded that he “didn’t think” this game would be decisive in determining his future. Much of the talk surrounded how Real Madrid would get on. While the bare minimum could not be a three-goal comeback, it wouldn’t be far off and Real Madrid were expected to put up a fight. This is Real Madrid’s first elimination so early on in the Champions League since Zinedine Zidane was in charge in 2019/20 and Covid-19 interrupted the ties against Manchester City to eliminate Los Blancos from the last 16. However, there didn’t seem to be much of a strategy to Real Madrid’s approach. A chaotic first five minutes was all-out energy, but the team quickly tired, and that evolved into desperation and wayward crosses into the box against a low block even in the first half. The second half and how it unfolded, with the knife stabbed further in with the late goal for Arsenal, has surely made it very difficult to see Ancelotti in the dugout come August.
Three questions
1. Should the consequences of this game go beyond just Ancelotti?
This defeat wasn’t down entirely to Carlo Ancelotti, but also to a concerning trend among Real Madrid’s key players. Jude Bellingham once again looked exhausted, as he did towards the end of last season. Rodrygo Goes was completely anonymous. Vinícius Júnior failed to create any end product. Kylian Mbappé was rash in his decision-making. Nobody can come out of this tie with any credit, but there should be real concern over the form of several of Real Madrid’s offensive players in the past month or two. A different coach may be able to get another tune out of these players, but this attacking line-up is beginning to look much more like the failed Galácticos of the early 2000s than the BBC line-up of the 2010s. That should be setting alarm bells ringing in the offices at Valdebebas.
2. Can Real Madrid have any complaints about referee François Letexier?
The truth is that Real Madrid were not on top of this tie at any point, perhaps excluding the first 10-15 minutes of the first leg and the first 10 minutes of the second. Beyond that, they failed to even threaten the Arsenal defence, their only goal coming from a defensive error one of the few times that Real Madrid’s high press worked. Letexier cancelled a penalty which would have been very soft to award, and was strict all night at the Bernabéu, but for both teams. He did show David Raya a yellow card for time-wasting early on, and other referees could have shown worse to David Alaba for his early foul and yellow card on Saka.
3. Is Real Madrid’s season over?
Real Madrid might be only four points off the top in La Liga, but that gap feels much bigger in terms of morale right now. The positive for Los Blancos could be that Barcelona remain involved in Europe, where they will play Inter Milan in the semi-final in two weeks’ time for the first leg, and then travel to Milan five days before the Clásico in the league. It would not be simplistic to say that Real Madrid’s season may stay on life support until that game at Montjuïc. To make it that far with a hope, Real Madrid still have to overcome fourth-placed Athletic Club and away trips to Getafe next midweek and Celta Vigo following the Copa del Rey final. Those two clashes with Barcelona will determine whether Real Madrid can get their hands on silverware, but it seems optimistic that this side could compete with Hansi Flick’s team based on the two performances against Arsenal.
