Real Madrid 1 – Arsenal 2 — there was no magical night, no comeback. Arsenal were once again better than Real Madrid, a team we’ve been saying for a while now doesn’t have enough in the tank — and it showed.
Ancelotti went with the usual, and the usual happened again — except this time, he didn’t have his usual luck. That luck that often bails Ancelotti out didn’t show up today, and all the shortcomings were on full display.
In a match that called for something different, for taking more risks, Ancelotti stuck to the same old formula, took no chances, and Arsenal had a calm, comfortable night at the Bernabéu.
Some players, like Mbappé, gave it their all, but it was clear they weren’t at 100% physically — so much so that Mbappé ended up injured. We’ll have to see how serious it is and whether he’ll make it to the Copa del Rey final on April 26. Vinicius was very poor in the first half, and Rodrygo looked like he didn’t even play the match.
La lesión de Kylian Mbappé.#UCL #LaCasaDelFútbol pic.twitter.com/uQH5LfwL5f
— Fútbol en Movistar Plus+ (@MovistarFutbol) April 16, 2025
Bellingham gave it everything, but there was little he could do. A silly penalty given away by Asensio could’ve made things worse, but Courtois saved it. Later, there was a penalty in favor of Madrid on Mbappé, but after six minutes of VAR review, the referee checked it and canceled it. That penalty could have changed everything — but today just wasn’t the day, and luck wasn’t on our side.
Ancelotti needed to make changes at halftime — both in players and tactics — but he didn’t. Only later in the second half did he bring on Ceballos, Endrick, Fran García, and then Brahim and Modric. But the season planning has been poor — we lost the plan B we had last year, like with Joselu, who gave us an option for a more direct style, with crosses and headers. This season, we signed Mbappé and Endrick — so it’s Plan A and Plan A again, and today, that was clear.
The whole match was spent making pointless crosses with no one there to finish them, and when Endrick came on, he wasn’t able to either. Rüdiger ended up playing more as a striker than Endrick — but that’s not the solution. A team like Atlético Madrid has a plan B and brings on guys like Sorloth and Correa. Real Madrid has no plan B or C — so if plan A fails, everything fails. And that’s exactly what happened today.
There was no way to cause any real damage — practically no shots on goal — and only Vinicius managed to score thanks to a major mistake by an Arsenal defender. But before that, Arsenal had scored the opener after a Valverde mistake broke the offside trap. At 1-1 there was a brief moment of belief, but it was just that — brief. There was no energy or plan B.
Vinicius dice que aquí no se rinde nadie.#UCL #LaCasaDelFútbol pic.twitter.com/jhB0Wv3w5T
— Fútbol en Movistar Plus+ (@MovistarFutbol) April 16, 2025
THE END.
— Fútbol en Movistar Plus+ (@MovistarFutbol) April 16, 2025
Merino sirve, Martinelli ejecuta. #UCL #LaCasaDelFútbol pic.twitter.com/sMcA8s3IR7
In fact, it was Arsenal who scored the 1-2 and won the match. They fully deserved to go through, and Real Madrid’s performance was very poor. The truth is, this has been coming all season — and today it finally happened.
😤 @thibautcourtois: "Tenemos que hacer autocrítica. A veces tenemos que hacer más jugadas en equipo y no individuales"#LaCasaDelFútbol #UCL pic.twitter.com/rQZpCxSNFV
— Fútbol en Movistar Plus+ (@MovistarFutbol) April 16, 2025
But that’s football. Credit to Arsenal, and now it’s time to focus on the league and the Copa del Rey. Also the Club World Cup, which we’ll be playing in for the first time, and that’s exciting. The bad news is that it’s going to be hard to get our players fit again.
"No sé si ha sido mi último partido en #UCL con el @realmadrid. Y no quiero saberlo", @MrAncelotti.#LaCasaDelFútbol pic.twitter.com/RXMKsy3IqP
— Fútbol en Movistar Plus+ (@MovistarFutbol) April 16, 2025