Real Madrid lost to Arsenal in terrible fashion. It was not a humiliating scoreline, but it was a definite blow to any hope of silverware this season in the most gut-wrenching fashion. Real Madrid were never in the game, it seemed, even when they were pushing and when they had the ball.
Real Madrid lost 2-1 on the night, and honestly, after all that talk about remontadas, this was something to be embarrassed about.
Carlo Ancelotti spoke about trying something new for this game. That he had a plan. I'm guessing the plan was to throw crosses into the box and watch Arsenal defenders hit them all for sixes.
Real Madrid just kept putting in crosses - even after they realised it is not working
Thibaut Courtois - Real Madrid's best player in the tie - talked about the strategy, and said: “Maybe we should have crossed less and tried other things. We crossed a lot, but we didn’t have a player like Joselu."
That sums up Ancelotti's gameplan in one line. He may not be dissing Carlo directly, but this is the Italian's job. This is what he is supposed to think about. All Real Madrid did was pump crosses into the box without an outlet. It made absolutely no sense.
Obviously, this is as much about Ancelotti as it is about the players, but the gameplan is on Ancelotti.
Real Madrid need a good, long and hard look in the mirror after this match. I am less annoyed at the fact that they lost, and more about the way they just... did not try. They tried crossing the ball, or dribble past multiple bodies. When neither worked, they gave up.
This one is on Ancelotti. The players looked up for it, of course they did, but looking up for it is not enough. Real Madrid need to do more with the ball than just pump crosses into the box against a team who are brilliant at keeping them out.
This was an atrocious coaching performance, and if Courtois won't blame Carlo, then I will.