At the end of the pitiful defeat (1-2) and the elimination of Real Madrid against Arsenal on Wednesday evening in the quarter-final return from the Champions League to the Santiago Bernabéu, discover what pleased … and displeased our editorial staff.
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Bukayo Saka (well) caught up
While the right winger of the Gunners had the golden opportunity to definitively fold any suspense from the quarter of an hour of play, on penalty (13th), the right winger roughly missed his panenka offering a ridiculously easy to intercept shot for Thibaut Courtois. A huge spoiled opportunity that could have cost Londoners dearly. Without consequence, in the end. The 23 -year -old attacker even caught up shortly after the hour of play, perfectly found in the meantime by Mikel Merino, the English went coldly to deceive the Belgian goalkeeper to drive the Madrid a little more. Beyond that, Saka was very stirring and has proposed enormously offensively. The main weapon of the Gunners.
William Saliba Waterproof …
The central defender of the French team, long robust, harsh and intractable in this meeting – notably against Kylian Mbappé -, like his defense, liquefied a few minutes after the first goal of his team …
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FLOPS
… then guilty
By making an infamous defensive error. The former of Olympique de Marseille simply offered the Madrid equalization on a silver platter in Vinicius, who had just propelled the ball into the nets of David Raya. A blunder without serious consequence for the Londonian – not customary because – who should not reiterate against PSG in the semi -finals.
-The end of the “eternal miracle” for real, logically and pitifully eliminated
Wednesday evening on the lawn of the Santiago Bernabéu which awaited a new intoxication of happiness, the Madrid magic, which often appeared eternal, flew away. Evaporated. The one who has saved, miracle the Merengues many times in the past three seasons, often surreistic – in the league, in cups or in C1 – did not have an effect in this quarter -final return to the Gunners. As in the first leg, the partners of Kylian Mbappé were put in front of the fait, in front of their shortcomings and their failures of the moment.
Exceptional intermittently and laborious generally this season, the men of Carlo Ancelotti, logically ousted from the competition, could simply not climb this new mountain facing them, far too high and robust. A return to the violent earth for the king of the continent who therefore abandons his crown, symptomatic of a season where the Madrids, surely unbalanced and alienated by the arrival of Kylian Mbappé last summer – which is more of a whim and a fantasy made by the president of the Merengues Florentino Perez than a real wish of Carlo Ancelotti – Good formula, resting on individuals like those of Vinicius JR, of the captain of the French team, Rodrygo or even Jude Bellingham.
Real, reigning champion and winner of two of the last four editions of the Champions League, was brutally caught up in reality. A much less magical and brilliant white house this year, Agripté by the fatality of the land. By stacking the stars with the arrival of Mbappé, Casa Blanca has the air (light) of the former PSG of Lionel Messi, Neymar, Marco Verratti etc. While the players of Casa Blanca seemed untouchable a few months ago, the truth of the game slapped the merengues, disgraced, who sadly drop their crown and risk losing everything this season.
Mbappé, cause of Madrid’s decline
Arrived last summer in the Spanish capital, the captain of the Blues – if we have to learn from it and take stock of the Merengues season at the time T – in the air of having (unfortunately) more unbalanced and mired this Madrilene team than to have improved it more. Author of a first part of the mediocre season and in a much more attractive form since the beginning of the year (accumulating 33 goals), the number 9 crystallizes (unjustly?) This state with two faces of the Merengues. It is last, unplayable last season, titled on the national and continental scene, much less fringent during this exercise 2024/25 will surely lose everything.
Dolphins in the Barça championship – which has already crushed Real twice this season -, which they will meet in the King Cup final on April 26 and now ejected from C1, Carlo Ancelotti’s men have only 90 minutes (or more) to avoid a white season, which would make a stain when you are Real Madrid and that we display such an impressive workforce. A poor performance that would coincide with the arrival of Kylian Mbappé. The latter will surely take on a Real requirement club, the main culprit costume. Deserved or simple karma (?).
No reunion with PSG
Author of a performance without impact on the final result and released touched in the ankle (75th), the French team striker will not have scored the slightest goal in this final phase of the Champions League. Faced with the Gunners, two meetings without flights, therefore, for the number 9 of Real which displayed a much better form at the start of 2025. The former PSG star, symptomatic of this laborious and failed Madrid season, lacks the opportunity to find his old club in the last square. An “explanation” between the native of Bondy and Paris who was expected of everyone and aroused great enthusiasm.
