Real Madrid lost 3-0 to Arsenal. It did not surprise me that Real Madrid lost. The way they lost, however, felt much worse than it should have.
Real Madrid failed. They failed miserably. People are saying there is a way for them to make a comeback, but I do not see it.
Real Madrid were relatively fine in the first half. They created a bit of danger, defended relatively well, and even though there were things that they should have improved on massively, they weren't the worse team by too much distance.
Arsenal came back on the pitch and Real Madrid didn't. That was the problem. Real Madrid never looked like themselves after the first 45 minutes.
To be brutally honest, they did not look that much like themselves in the first half anyway. But, in retrospect, maybe the first half was good after all. That is the kind of delusion I am living in now. Relative stability.
I never thought I would say these things as a Real Madrid fan. Well, maybe I did, but I had forgotten. Real Madrid deserved exactly what they got. And they got exactly what they deserved.
Real Madrid's substitutions were horrific
Ancelotti did not make much sense after 45 minutes. He saw things were not working out, so he subbed Lucas Vazquez on. That was his first substitution. Arda Guler and Endrick have made the difference on so many occasions, and yet, they were nowhere to be seen.
Brahim Diaz was brought on late. Fran Garcia should have started the game, but did not see the pitch until it was too late. David Alaba, who got cooked in every single attempt that Bukayo Saka had at him, was subbed off long after Saka left the pitch. Alaba provided next to nothing to Real Madrid, while Saka provided a lot. Most of that was because of Alaba being on the pitch, and yet, Ancelotti did not think much about subbing him off sooner.
The signs were there. The first half was goalless, sure, but it did not come without the problems being brought up. And yet, Ancelotti did not do anything about it.
Going forward, there was no structure, and it made a lot of people (rightfully) mad. An attack as talented as that and it could not muster up one single good chance? It was something that I did not enjoy watching even slightly.
Just get it over with. Don't get ridiculed once again at the Bernabeu. If you want to bow out, bow out fighting. Just don't make it worse.