Damning stat – Real Madrid covered the least distance of all UCL quarterfinalists in the second leg | OneFootball

One of the many criticisms around Real Madrid after their defeat to Arsenal in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League quarterfinal was their failure to keep up with their opponents in terms of distance run.

While the statistic may appear a queer one to dive into at first sight, the distance a team covers is directly reflective of the work rate they put in off the ball and the number of players actively pressing.

Surprisingly, Los Blancos have outrun their opponents only once this season – against Atalanta in the league stage of the UEFA Champions League – and the statistic is beyond embarrassing.

Once again second best

As related by SPORT, Real Madrid covered 12.7 km less than the 113.9 km Arsenal ran during the game at the Emirates Stadium.

The criticism, however, appears to have not reached Madrid yet as they were once again second-best on the metric in their defeat last night. Arsenal covered a stunning 116 km at the Santiago Bernabeu while the hosts ran just 107.5 km.

Lacking in effort. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

While indeed the difference was lesser on this occasion, Real Madrid’s efforts were simply not quite there and a comparison with the other quarterfinalists brings to light how entitled the dressing room feel.

Borussia Dortmund and Barcelona played a gruelling game on that front with 123.4 km and 117.1 km respectively while even PSG covered 114.4 km against Aston Villa who ran close to 120 km. Both Inter Milan and Bayern Munich were also north of the 110km mark.

Real Madrid finished the lowest on the chart and were the only team to cover less than 110 km, and considering how they were to be playing for a win with intensity, the team’s effort quite does not add up.

It is clear that Los Blancos are lacking the motivation to track back and apply pressure off the ball and opponents have taken serious advantage of the same.

At this point, it appears to be something beyond Carlo Ancelotti’s scope to repair.