Real Madrid v Arsenal UWCL clash: Ian Wright calls pitch “A disgrace!” in social media outrage | OneFootball

Arsenal Women lined up to take on Real Madrid in a first of a two-legged quarter final tie on Tuesday evening. Even though the Spanish side ran out 2-0 winners, Renée Sleger’s side would be excused to feel hard done by, and this was due to the playing conditions at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stéfano.

More specifically the playing surface was to blame as the excessive rainfall in Madrid made the match a tough watch. The pitch was patchy, uneven, filled with puddles and muddy all game long, which was simply unacceptable. If you were none the wiser, you would’ve thought an amateur game was being played as opposed to a UEFA Women’s Champions League quarter final clash in reality.

An individual who did not hold back from brutally criticizing the state of affairs was Ian Wright. The Arsenal legend took to his Instagram at half time to vent his fury on the playing conditions, he said: “Watching the Champions League quarter-final. Real Madrid’s pitch – this is worse than Derby’s pitch the other day in the Conti Cup final.”

“This is a f—— disgrace, the pitches these girls have to play on.”

This was in reference to Chelsea’s 2-1 win over Manchester City last Saturday where the pitch at the Pride Park was also less than ideal.

The state of the pitch directly impacted the result of the game as Real’s opener came from an awkward miscue from Leah Williamson as a result of the patchy surface. Even though she could and probably should have done better in preventing Linda Caicedo the opportunity to score, she also had every right to be frustrated at the surface. Madrid also fell victim as it directly was to blame for the injury to Melanie Leupolz, twisting awkwardly as a result of her studs being stuck in the mud.

All this now means that Arsenal Women face an uphill task at the Emirates next week. Nevertheless, Renée Slegers expressed her hope for a different outcome in the second leg. She said via Arsenal.com: “It’s only half-time. It’s 2-0 to Real Madrid at the moment but we’re going to play against them again at the Emirates and we’ll have to believe that we can score two goals with the fans behind us.

“We heard the fans the whole game here as well today, so thanks for that. Thanks for the support and we always know that they will bring us that extra edge, that extra energy when we play at home with all the fans behind us so I’m looking forward to that.”

Before the crucial clash however, Arsenal Women will take on Liverpool Women on Saturday as they seek to close the eight point gap to Chelsea before they Man City on Sunday.

Coming back to the playing conditions, would we have seen a different outcome without the poor conditions? Let me know in the comments gooners!

BENJAMIN KENNETH

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