Real Madrid were left exposed on Tuesday night in London against Arsenal. The Whites are having a season to forget and not even the Champions League is a haven of peace for them anymore. It had been a long time since the Whites had suffered such a heavy defeat in Europe. Mikel Arteta’s side thrashed Madrid 3-0 and the Whites will have to pull off a miracle at the Santiago Bernabéu.
Real Madrid have hit a slump at the worst moment of the season. In April they still don’t know what it’s like to win, which has made life difficult for them. In the Cup they managed to get into the final, suffering, in extremis and without winning the match. In the league, their last defeat to Valencia leaves the Whites 4 points behind Barça, making it difficult for them to win the title.
In the Champions League, as we said, Real Madrid suffered a heavy defeat in the first leg of the quarter-finals against Arsenal and now need a miracle at the Bernabéu to stage a comeback and take a step towards the final in Munich. It seems impossible, but the Whites have not lost faith.
Getting into this situation has been due mainly to a number of reasons. Many people blame Carlo Ancelotti, but his squad also has defects that have cost the team dearly. To begin with, the Italian coach has had to fit players into positions that are not theirs. This situation has been aggravated by the continuous injuries to important players and has led to a drop in performance.
In attack, Real Madrid has three stars who play in the same position: Vinicius, Mbappé and Rodrygo. Their natural position is on the left, but Mbappé plays as a centre forward and Rodrygo as a right winger. The numbers show that they are one of the worst tridents and that together they play worse than when one of them is left out of the equation.
Even though Mbappé is not performing badly as a striker, he is not. Endrick is the only pure centre forward in the team and, although he has performed well when he has had minutes, he is young and inexperienced to take on the role.
One step further back, in the midfield, since the departure of Toni Kroos, Real Madrid have been short of constructive midfielders. They have two, Modric and Ceballos. The first is 39 years old and needs a rest, and the second considered himself an eternal substitute and when he proved otherwise he picked up an injury. He is eagerly awaited for the Champions League return leg.
If we keep going backwards we come to the Whites’ biggest problem: the defensive line. With a series of injuries, players being relocated and abysmal performance, Real Madrid have been very much at the mercy of events. In the center of defense, Asencio has settled in to replace the injured Eder Militao and Alaba, whom the Whites want to get rid of. On the other hand, the fullbacks, without Dani Carvajal, are performing abysmally, allowing the majority of the goals that the Whites concede to come in through there.