This was going to be it for Real Madrid, another remontada was loading. They were 3-0 down after one leg following a miserable performance in north London against a well-disciplined Arsenal side with a point to prove, but none of that mattered, because this is Madrid, and Madrid just win in the Champions League regardless. The laws of footballing nature, supposedly, do not apply on European nights at Santiago Bernabeu... Yeah, right.
All of the hype over what might happen quickly soured into a harsh reality for the 15-time champions. Not only did they fail to mount a miraculous comeback, but they never really showed up against the Gunners. Instead, they were outrun and outplayed on Wednesday, with Arsenal terrific value for a 2-1 victory on the night and 5-1 aggregate thrashing.
There was a brief moment where all of the chatter looked like it might become reality when Bukayo Saka, with a checkered past when it comes to big penalty kicks, saw one denied by Thibaut Courtois early in the first half. Game on - or so we all thought. Instead, Madrid never really got going. They had a penalty shout of their own chalked off, and fell into a fairly woeful pattern of simply hoofing the ball into the box without a striker to aim for. As Courtois pointed out after the match, they tried to play like Joselu was there - only the 6'4 lumbering forward now practices his craft in the Qatari top flight.
In the second half, the pieces fell into place. Saka redeemed himself with a wonderful dink to give Arsenal the lead on the night. Madrid briefly sprang back into life when William Saliba - who had been excellent to that point - dwelled on the ball slightly too long and Vinicius Jr - who had been woeful to that point - capitalised. But that second wave never followed, and Gabriel Martinelli buried a second in stoppage time to put the tie to bed.
Now, Madrid are in trouble. They have been poor all season, and Carlo Ancelotti's signature vibes-guy genius is starting to wane. He had no real tactical setup to actually score goals, and no response for Arsenal's domination of central areas. Throw in another magical midfield showing from Declan Rice - who was superb across the two legs - and Madrid were outclassed.
These things don't happen at the Bernabeu, and when thrust into unfamiliar territory, Los Blancos tend to look at the man at the helm for blame. Ancelotti, then, has some serious questions to answer.
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