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.
According to official UEFA data, Ancelotti’s players covered 101.2 kilometers at the Emirates. Arteta’s, 113.9. A difference of 12.7 kilometers, the equivalent of running up and down the entire length of the Paseo de la Castellana. The Emirates match was the game in which Madrid ran the least in this edition: 6.3 kilometers less than the 107.5 that the team has been averaging.
This season the trend is for the Whites’ players to run less than the opposition, some 7.4 kilometers on average. The reigning Champions League champions only ran more than one other team in the Champions League and that was against Atalanta: 115.6 to 114.9.
Now is not the time to look for someone to blame, but a change of attitude is necessary if a comeback is to be achieved. The bus rides along the Paseo de la Castellana seem a long way off and the main reason is that Real Madrid is no longer a competitive team, in fact, it is no longer a team at all.
The 7 named
Real Madrid has shown many things during the season, such as a lack of effort and collective commitment. The disaster in the Champions League could leave several victims along the way. Florentino has taken the reins and has difficult but necessary decisions in mind. In France there is talk of 7 important changes at Real Madrid if they end up losing to Arsenal.
According to information from Le10sport, there are seven Real Madrid players who could leave the club in the summer if the season ends, as everything seems to indicate, in a blank, without titles. They are Carlo Ancelotti, Lucas Vázquez, Luka Modrić, David Alaba, Eduardo Camavinga, Arda Güler and Aurélien Tchouaméni.
The journalist has gone back over the news published in recent days by different media outlets to compile the list. Real Madrid usually honors its agreements with the players, but it is having an exceptional season in terms of results and that could leave the team without titles, so the measures and decisions will also have to be exceptional.
The squad believes in the comeback
“It’s complicated, of course, but if there’s one team that can turn this around, it’s us. With our fans and our stadium. Wednesday will be a totally different game and together we are going to pull it off,“ said Lucas Vázquez.
“If there’s one team in the world that can turn this around, it’s us. We need to give 100% at the Bernabéu, we need our fans and we are convinced that we are going to turn it around,” said Asencio.
And finally, Courtois: “People have to believe in this team and I think it’s possible to turn it around. We have to work, correct our mistakes and try to win. If we score one or two quick goals, the third one will come. It’s possible to come back, but it’s not a good start,” he said.
The Whites can draw on three previous occasions, but there is only one identical one. In the European Cup, in the 1975-1976 season, Real Madrid lost 4-1 to Derby County in the first leg, but came back to win 5-1 in the return leg.