The roof was closed, the pre-match social media hijinks were in full flow, the streets were lined, the stadium was full and the eyes of the world were all fixed on the Bernabeu. Could they? Would they? The word 'remontada' was thrown around all week and in the end it was all for nada.
Despite an initial quick burst out the gates, Real Madrid were all talk and no show on the field. The same cracks appeared, as Arsenal managed to cope with anything and everything that Los Blancos threw their way - coasting to a comfortable 2-1 win in the Spanish captial.
With the fallout now in full swing, Real Madrid face the difficult test of Atheltic Club in LaLiga before turning their eye to a Copa Del Rey final not long after - with the mood low, ego's dented and confidence seemingly shattered, this feels like a real make or break period for a number of individuals.
1. This is the end for Carlo Ancelotti
There is probably no environment more unforgiving than that of Real Madrid - Carlo Ancelotti has made history, he has won titles and created memories that will echo in the halls of the Bernabeu for eternity.
However, for all his success - it has become increasingly difficult to defend the Italian coach over the course of the campaign. Whether it's baffling tactical decisions, the persistent belief of 'suffering' or the dire performances in the biggest games - this has been a tough watch, Real are playing like a side in transition when this star-studded cast should be an all-dominant side.
Carlo has broken all the wrong kinds of records this season, as it looks likely that Los Blancos will finish the season with a whimper over a seismic bang. Whilst he has certainly deserved some grace with the board not planning aspects of the squad well - he still has more than enough tools to have put up a better fight for titles, than what has been seen.
Over the course of the campaign, Real have lost to the likes of Barcelona, Liverpool, Milan and Arsenal by a margin of 19-4 with another two Clasico's still left to play. Not once in any of those fixtures has it ever looked like Carlo's side were prepared nor fit to play - often getting outrun, outworked and outplayed. It is high time that the manager departs for good now.
2. The Real Madrid board need to be ruthless this summer
For too long as of late, Real Madrid have been making decisions around their squad planning that aren't quite what is needed for the team. The lack of quality at full-back is incredibly alarming for a club Real's size, the failure to fix the gap left behind by Toni Kroos, the lack of attention to the depth at centre-back.
Whilst the club struck out lucky with the emergence of Raul Asencio - one has to wonder, had that not been the case, what was the plan? Further along the line, with Dani Carvajal injured long-term and continued showings of just how far past his best Lucas Vazquez is - where was the plan? The same can be said at left-back with Ferland Mendy and to a lesser extend, Fran Garcia.
Beyond that, Real now have multiple squad issues - Lucas seems to be on his way out on the expiry of his contract this summer, David Alaba looks past his best and is on monstrous wages, Luka Modric's future seems uncertain and there remains question marks over the level that Dani Carvajal and Eder Militao will return in.
Whilst the core squad seems to be well set, the board has a number of decisions to make about the futures of a number players within the squad - they need to ensure they get it right, otherwise there will be more of the same come next season.
3. Real Madrid need to make a decision on Rodrygo
Rodrygo is a talented footballer, in fact - he is right up there amongst the best attackers in the world when he is at his best. However, he just 2 goal contributions in 18 games and across two legs against Arsenal he contributed next to nothing.
While he has certainly shown moments of being effective from the right, he feels far too limited in that position and almost seems to be playing within himself a lot of the time. The biggest issue is that in the position he prefers to be in, there isn't enough of an argument to suggest he is better than either Vini Jr or Mbappé in those areas.
For an attacker at Real Madrid, his numbers this season haven't been good enough - even with some of the good moments that he has provided, it almost feels too often that when Vini and Mbappé aren't contributing, Real cannot count on Rodrygo either.
Selling the Brazilian would be devastating and there isn't truly a great number of players on the market that are attainable for a reasonable fee - nor are there many who are outstanding candidates. But there needs to be a solution to the attacking problem Real face with his output, does a new coach solve that? Perhaps - but there may be a tough conversation to be had sooner rather than later in the current set-up.