Carlo Ancelotti's side never looked like pulling off one of their trademark comebacks as their defence of the European Cup ended on Wednesday
Real Madrid were unable to muster a signature comeback in the Champions League against Arsenal, and went out of the competition with a whimper as their frontline folded in a 2-1 home loss to Arsenal on Wednesday. On a night poised for Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Jr to stand out, the duo fell flat, while the Gunners dominated and were good value for the 5-1 aggregate win over two legs.
It might have been different, though. Thibaut Courtois played his part early, saving Bukayo Saka's poorly hit penalty with a strong palm after VAR adjudged Raul Asencio to have dragged Mikel Merino down in the box. Madrid then thought they had another lifeline when Kylian Mbappe was brought down in the box by Declan Rice, but the penalty decision was overturned after a lengthy VAR review.
The second half was livelier as Arsenal took the lead on the night with a fine team goal that was finished off by Saka, who lifted the ball over Courtois to spare his early blushes. It might have killed off the tie for good, but Madrid responded instantly as Vinicius latched onto a William Saliba mistake to level the score on the night.
But just as it seemed the valiant comeback was on, things quietened down. Arsenal squeezed the spaces as Madrid lacked both attacking options and the inspiration to take advantage of them, which in turn left Gabriel Martinelli to kill the tie off for good as he sprinted through on goal and slotted the ball into the bottom corner in stoppage time. No Madrid magic this time – for once.
GOAL rates Real Madrid's players from Santiago Bernabeu…
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Thibaut Courtois (6/10):
Came up with a big moment early on, denying Saka from the spot. Could do nothing about the goals and was relatively untroubled otherwise.
Lucas Vazquez (5/10):
Full of legs, but not much quality. Some of his deliveries were very poor, and he put a few weak efforts on goal.
Raul Asencio (5/10):
Extremely unlucky to give away a penalty. Lost track of Saka for the Arsenal opener.
Antonio Rudiger (6/10):
A mixed bag. Won some tackles and relished his individual duels – but never looked comfortable against the moving Merino.
David Alaba (4/10):
Picked up one of the silliest early bookings you'll see, and never really dealt with Saka.
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Aurelien Tchouameni (5/10):
Good in his one-on-ones, but positionally all over the place. Dragged into all kinds of uncomfortable spaces by Odegaard.
Federico Valverde (5/10):
Outrun and outworked in midfield – save for a couple of nice forward bursts.
Jude Bellingham (5/10):
Not bad throughout, especially since he spent most of the game playing one versus three in midfield.
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Rodrygo (5/10):
Put in a few dangerous deliveries and tried to make things happen. Unlucky to be subbed after an hour.
Kylian Mbappe (4/10):
Not bad as much as very well defended. Dangerous when the game opened up, but was then replaced after suffering an ankle injury.
Vinicius Jr (4/10):
Rarely got past his man and lost the ball a few times. May have grabbed an equaliser, but this was a remarkably poor showing from a man of his talent.
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Fran Garcia (6/10):
Offered a bit more attacking intent without much defensive quality.
Dani Ceballos (5/10):
Off the pace immediately, and never settled in.
Endrick (6/10):
A ball of energy, but not very effective.
Luka Modric (N/A):
Could have done with him coming on a few minutes earlier.
Brahim Diaz (N/A):
No time to make an impact.
Carlo Ancelotti (3/10):
His worst night as Madrid manager? Madrid had absolutely nothing across the 90 minutes, and were admittedly lucky to get their one goal. Could his time in the Spanish capital be up soon?
