Madrid burns in a night of white impotence in Europe (1-2)

BarcelonaThe king of Europe no longer wears a crown. For once, logic was stronger than all the calls from Real Madrid fans to experience another epic night at the Santiago Bernabéu. Arsenal will play in the Champions League semi-finals against Luis Enrique's PSG, having eased through the second leg of the quarter-finals (1-2). Much ado about nothing, in the end. Real Madrid fans endured a night of helplessness in which some players like Vini and Rodrygo were mere shadows. The Whites' chances of winning titles are dwindling, as they await the Copa del Rey and La Liga finals.

It didn't help Real Madrid to talk about Juanito's spirit, the UEFA comebacks of the 1980s, the night against City, or the lost duels in the dark ages when rivals were dwarfed. It's true that Los Blancos are specialists, whether civilly or criminally, in turning around knockout matches that seemed lost, but this year they lack football. They have spectacular players up front, but it's a broken team, where not everyone defends, with a footballing void they yearn for Kroos and that Modric, a veteran, can no longer fill. Only Courtois can defend. And, in fact, the Belgian maintained some excitement by saving a penalty. Ten minutes into the match, Asencio committed a childish penalty on Mikel Merino from a corner, but the Belgian correctly saved Saka's shot, who was trying to gently surprise him, Panenka-style. Madrid dodged a bullet, but was still condemned to score three goals. And determined to scare Mikel Arteta's disciples, the home side came out too violently, with Alaba, Rüdiger, and Asencio committing a multitude of fouls. Lucky for them, Courtois.

Arteta's Arsenal, a project of their own, didn't limit themselves to defending and managed to scare the home crowd with Saka's shots and Merino's titanic struggles. Vinícius and Rodrygo, on the other hand, were nowhere to be seen. And Kylian Mbappé would do so when, on the half-hour mark, he tried to deceive the referee by going down when Declan Rice briefly caught him inside the box. A penalty was awarded, but after waiting five endless minutes, Frenchman Letexier was asked to review it on VAR. And there he discovered that his compatriot had put more bread than cheese. It wasn't a penalty, and the Whites went into the locker room without having scored their first goal in the first half.

Mbappé, injured

Although time was against them, Ancelotti didn't make any changes until the sixtieth minute. Nothing would help a Madrid side where Mbappé was struggling, while some teammates were diminishing. In a show of security, Arsenal knew how to read the game all the time, now defending, now attacking in a duel in which Rüdiger, incomprehensibly, didn't see red after stepping on Lewis-Skelly.

Madrid was losing its composure, and Saka, making himself forgiven for the penalty he missed in the first half, made it 1-0 in the 65th minute. The England international, who had been chased around the locker room by Real Madrid's Carvajal, who also plays his part when sidelined due to injury, scored the goal that sealed it all. So much so that Arsenal immediately committed their only defensive error of the entire day, allowing Vini to score the equalizer. But the Whites would never get close to a scenario they had dreamed of. Quite the opposite. On a dark night, they would end up losing Mbappé to injury and seeing Gabriel Martinelli score England's winning goal in stoppage time. Another defeat on the day they lost their European crown.