Online Reporter
SERIAL Champions League football winners Real Madrid bared their fangs but left Munich staring down the barrel of a second consecutive season without a major trophy and left coach Alvaro Arbeloa’s tenure looking tenuous.
Nine points behind Spanish LaLiga leaders Barcelona, Los Blancos seem destined to end a troubled campaign empty-handed after their dramatic European quarter-final exit against Bayern on Wednesday night.
Arbeloa’s side took the lead three times at the Allianz Arena and until Eduardo Camavinga’s 86th minute red card had every chance of going through after digging deep and going blow-for-blow with the Bavarian giants in a thrilling clash.
A late double for Bayern consigned Madrid to a 4-3 defeat on the night – one on which Arbeloa said his team gave “their souls and their lives” – and a 6-4 aggregate loss.
“An honourable exit that will not provide consolation or avoid another revolution,” wrote Spanish newspaper AS after a heady night in Munich.
That revolution could cost Arbeloa his job and Los Blancos are braced for pain and possible change in the weeks and months to follow.
“I’ve always tried to help the club in the best way I can, and that’s how it will be until the last day,” Arbeloa told reporters after the match.
“I’m not at all worried (about my future) and I will understand perfectly any decision that the club takes. I’m a man of the club – if I’m hurt today, it’s not for me, it’s for Real Madrid, and because this year we will not win our 16th (Champions League title).”
Failure in the Spanish capital is rarely tolerated under president Florentino Perez without someone paying the price.
When Arbeloa was promoted to first team manager in January, Madrid did not state the length of his contract – suggesting that he had no long-term guarantees.
The coach has found it hard to motivate the squad at times in LaLiga and has only 13 victories in 21 matches at the helm.
In his first game in charge, Real’s superstars were knocked out of the Copa del Rey by second-tier Albacete. Yet, his bold, attacking line-up against Bayern almost paid off.
Arbeloa left Camavinga and Thiago Pitarch on the bench and opted for an aggressive midfield trio of Jude Bellingham, Federico Valverde and Turkish playmaker Arda Guler, who struck twice.
Ultimately, it was not enough, and Real will likely fail to win any silverware for a second successive season for the first time since the 2008-09 and 2009-10 campaigns.
Perhaps Madrid’s biggest problem remains one which Carlo Ancelotti could not solve last season, nor Xabi Alonso in his short time at the helm – how to fit Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior and Bellingham into the same side without losing balance.
Arbeloa could argue that the Bayern second leg showed it is possible, with England international Bellingham impressive, Mbappe on the scoresheet and Vinicius hitting the woodwork.
Yet the energy and effort the star trio put into this game was beyond their regular performances this season and unlikely to be replicated on lesser occasions.
Not to mention, the team still conceded four goals.
Real’s anger at the pivotal decision to send off Camavinga and their gutsy display could help Arbeloa, but whether it is enough to save his job, only time will tell.
Arsenal limp through
Mikel Arteta wanted “fire” from his Arsenal players but instead got a sluggish performance as the Gunners did what was needed to reach the semi-finals on Wednesday night.
Kai Havertz’s goal from the first leg and the goalless draw with Sporting at the Emirates was enough for Arsenal to take their place in the last four of the competition for a second successive season.
It is the first time in their history that Arsenal have reached consecutive semi-finals in the Champions League or European Cup.
“I know the effort, the commitment that they put in,” said Arteta.
“There’s a lot of work behind it. We’ve done something that has never been done in the history of our club in 140 years, so that tells you the difficulty of that.”
But the Gunners are not producing their best football when it matters. They have won just one of their past five matches in all competitions, scoring only three goals. — AFPBC Sport.
