Real Madrid border on tragedy against Leipzig on 122nd birthday
"If I changed everyone who was playing badly, I would even change the coach". With this sentence from Carlo Ancelotti, one could sum up Real Madrid's match in the Champions League quarter-finals. In the 120 minutes, Real Madrid were worse than Leipzig, shot less at goal, reached the box less, dominated the ball less, conceded more shots... a calamity that is not enough to win the Champions League.
With PSG, Bayern and City already in the quarter-finals, this Real Madrid would not even make it through the first 20 minutes alive. The best thing is that there is still a month to go before the final and the team can't play any worse. What's more, they have already exceeded their quota of luck: Leipzig's controversial goal in the first leg and a yellow card for Vinicius, which bordered on a red card, could have complicated the tie. The Brazilian is still over-revving and Ancelotti is no longer able to calm him down. The future does not look good for him if Mbappé arrives and his behaviour does not improve.
Ancelotti's self-criticism was due to an unprecedented line-up that had to play unrecognisable football. Five players in midfield, Rodrygo on the bench and the intention to dominate the ball. None of that was what Real Madrid knew how to do and they ended up playing without rhythm and without tension with a lot of players in midfield that prevented Kroos from moving the ball cleanly.
The day started badly for the club on its 122nd birthday. Bellingham was handed a two-match ban for the red card he picked up in Valencia. After the game he spoke to the media to denounce that: "All I will say is that what happened, happened with the referee and his decision to whistle. We have to remember that he is human, but so am I, they should use more common sense to judge my actions".
Earlier, the Public Prosecutor's Office activated the media machine against Carlo Ancelotti for alleged tax fraud. The noise was to ask for 4 years and 9 months in prison for the Italian. A disproportionate sanction because this case is from 2015, Ancelotti has already deposited the fine and everything is reduced to one million euros, which corroborates the hypothesis of the "laws of terror" as some lawyers call them. Intimidating the accused by depriving him of his liberty so that he pays the fine and avoids trial and media exposure. The collection of fines against this type of workers has met with Xabi Alonso and Ancelotti commented after the match that he will follow in his footsteps.
With all that Real Madrid put the roof on the Bernabéu, prior UEFA approval, and with that strange line-up that nobody understood, but the inertia got a great play between Bellingham and Vinicius to give Los Blancos the first goal that, in the end, would be decisive because Lunin saved more than the account and Orbán scored in a strange header for 1-1. Dani Olmo had extra time in his boots in the final minutes, but the crossbar saved Los Blancos.
Ancelotti gave Brahim no options in a game where his ball control would have been essential to dominate. After the match, Movistar+ journalist Mónica Marchante announced that Luis de la Fuente will call the player up for the next international window, which will mean that he will have to decide whether he chooses Morocco or Spain for his international future.
All in all, Real Madrid were saved from tragedy on a bad day at the office where nobody got it right, but the shield took them to the quarter-finals, as some would say. Fans will take this result and the poor play for granted if the team wipes the bad month of February off the map and gets itself up to speed for the final stretch of the season.