Real Madrid 1-2 Arsenal: Match review | OneFootball

Real Madrid could not break a well-prepared Arsenal side, as the Merengues succumbed to a Champions League quarter-final knockout at the Santiago Bernabeu.

After an entire week of quotes flooding social media, Carlo Ancelotti started the match with Lucas Vázquez and David Alaba as fullbacks. Jude Bellingham, Fede Valverde, and Aurelien Tchouameni were given the reins of the midfield.

As the game began, the intensity was visible since the Bernabeu crowd cheered whenever a Real Madrid player touched the ball. The fans thought Kylian Mbappe had begun their quest towards a comeback, but as soon as the ball hit the back of the net in the initial minutes, even the Frenchman knew he was offside.

A few minutes later, after an Arsenal corner was cleared, the referee checked in with the VAR for a potential foul, and the English side was awarded a penalty. However, Thibaut Courtois rose to the occasion and parried away Bukayo Saka’s poorly taken penalty to keep Los Blancos in the hunt.

Following that play, there weren’t any significant chances created by Ancelotti’s men, except when everyone thought Mbappe had earned his team a penalty, but it was found that the French striker took a dive.

The first half ended with 6 shots at goal, and none of them were on target. For a side 3-goals down, this is not a stat they would’ve liked to look towards.

It took the Vikings 55 minutes to register their first shot on target, which was frankly, quite a poor one from Vinicius Junior.  Plus, to make matters worse, just 10 minutes later, Bukayo Saka sealed the tie by scoring one past Thibaut Courtois. Vini netted one in the 65th minute, but afterwards, there was little to look forward to.

Gabriel Martinelli registered his name on the scoresheet as the Merengues lost a quarter-final tie in the UCL for the first time in 21 years.

Thibaut Courtois, someone who prevented Real Madrid from more humiliation, bluntly said in the post-match interview that the players need to play some team football instead of spamming crosses inside the box.

To be fair, what the Belgian said was not untrue. In the current squad, no one is strong aerially, and neither are most of the players as tall. Perhaps one specific Joselu could’ve helped Ancelotti in this quest.

Arsenal dominated the tie overall, not just the scoreline, but even as far as the gameplay is concerned. Last night, Real Madrid ran 8.5km less than the Gunners as compared to around 12km less at the Emirates.

After the dust had settled, to an extent, reports emerged that the players had lost belief in Ancelotti, and his only tactical plan for the second leg was “intensity and sacrifice.”

This was a long time coming, given how the team had played the entire season and barely gotten past teams in most matches.

Arsenal will now face PSG, and Real Madrid hopes not to go trophyless. They are still in the hunt for the league title and will face FC Barcelona in the Copa Del Rey final next week.