Real Madrid surrendered two first-half goals to Club Brugge in a Champions League group stage matchup that should have been an easy victory for Los Blancos. And Madridistas were NOT having it.
In their first Champions League game of the 2019-2020 campaign, Real Madrid fell behind 2-0 at the half to former star Angel Di Maria’s PSG. They eventually went on to lose the game 3-0.
So Zinedine Zidane decided to only rest Gareth Bale for their second group stage game and leave in key players like captain Sergio Ramos, who was suspended against PSG. The intent was clear: Get a convincing win at all costs.
Instead, Real Madrid were woeful in the first half of a must-win, “gimme” group stage game against Club Brugge. They were indecisive on offense, played an asininely high offside trap, and made horrendous mistakes defensively that gifted Brugge a 2-0 lead.
Los Blancos fans were understandably incensed by the team’s poor performance in the first half.
We asked fans to describe the performance in one word. Here’s a sampling of the responses we received.
Disastrous #halamadrid https://t.co/ekZgrSiR8G
— Politics of Life (@politicsoflife) October 1, 2019
Sadly we are going home ☹️ https://t.co/EBIJACrcGS
— Engr. Anas Md (@anasmdanyaro) October 1, 2019
Catastrophic https://t.co/ZluIazmpcj
— dan 😶🌫️ (@powderhokie) October 1, 2019
Others tried to put things in perspective, especially after the team seemed to be in cruise control after three straight clean sheets.
We go from “Zidane out” after the PSG game to “we might actually do bits this season” after 3 clean sheets to “everyone’s washed, sack Zidane” after 45 minutes. Real Madrid is an emotional rollercoaster.
— Xav Salazar (@XavsFutbol) October 1, 2019
Being a Real Madrid fan surely does seem like riding a scary rollercoaster at times.
Others realized that even Manchester United fans were having fun at their expense.
Even Manchester United fans are Trolling Real Madrid fans. Will you guys STFU😡
— Charged🧠 (@LetsTalk_Biz) October 1, 2019
My oh my, how things have changed from last week.
But Real Madrid can’t get demoted to the Europa League, right?
Right???
Hopefully the players execute much better in the second half, turn the ship around, and are able to get the right formula for success from Zidane. If so, this first half meltdown will seem like a somewhat funny relic of the past.
If not, Real Madrid will be in full chaos, the rumors surrounding Zidane will be insufferable, and we’ll be in a nervous panic until the next time Real bounces back.
Remember, Madrid are still first place in La Liga and went on a rampage after losing 3-0 to PSG, so don’t let the lowest of lows sweep you away…