Kylian Mbappé landed at Real Madrid to experience nights like this, enjoy comebacks, and win Champions. Mbappé lived his first magical night with failure.
Florentino signed him to strengthen the team, and his presence has only served to lower the level of others.
Real Madrid was winning without him. His presence in the team has only served to relinquish the throne, and moreover with Barça vying for the inheritance.
Neither epic, nor magic, nor comeback. This Real Madrid has been humiliated and thrown out of Europe. 3-0 in the first leg and 1-2 in the second leg.
5-1, a thrashing as the unforgettable President Vicente Boluda would say. The magic was in the stands, that never fails. But it didn't reach the field.
Madrid Didn't Play Anything and the Stars Disconnected
Real Madrid didn't play anything. Their stars disappeared. Arsenal only needed to play with order and discipline.
Arteta's men knew what they wanted and how to achieve it. Ancelotti's men went out to impose their individual class and rely on free genius to fulfill the epic.
But this time it didn't work. It can't always work. Especially if success isn't sought with a clear head.
They wanted to score the second goal when the first hadn't arrived. There wasn't a clear plan. If Mbappé is clumsy, Vinícius inhibited, Rodrygo disappeared, and Bellingham, unrecognizable, if the individualities fail this Madrid, they are lost.
Real Madrid didn't find the tone in the first half. The passion from the stands didn't reach the field. There, the white players couldn't reach that point of madness that would unsettle Arsenal.
That was despite the match starting with a goal disallowed for Real Madrid due to a clear offside by Mbappé. Madrid attacked, but without clarity, and Arsenal kept warning with their counterattacks.
Until in the 11th minute, Letexier, theoretically the best referee in the world, called a penalty in Real Madrid's area. With a two-minute delay. VAR alerted him and called a penalty for a hold by Asencio on Mikel Merino.
Saint Courtois
Saint Courtois saved the situation by stopping Saka's shot. Bernabéu roared. It was as if it had been the first goal of the comeback.
Madrid didn't connect with the match until the 22nd minute when the referee called a penalty for a hold by Rice on Mbappé. But the VAR analysis, which lasted 5 minutes, overturned the referee's decision.
Real Madrid fell apart. A lot of time was lost, and it was hard for them to warm up again.
Disjointed attacks that couldn't test David Raya. Arsenal continued to generate danger with their counterattacks.
The match reached halftime with 0-0, reducing the epic to the final 45 minutes. On the way to the locker room, Carvajal clashed with Saka.
No one at Bernabéu doubted that Real Madrid would come out biting in the second half in search of the comeback. But it wasn't like that. The match broke down, it was end-to-end, and Madrid never felt comfortable.
With Ancelotti, 4 Players Will Leave
Saka scored the 0-1, and shortly after, Vinícius equalized, taking advantage of a gift from Saliba. But there would be no more white goals. Only Martinelli would move the scoreboard to leave it at 1-2 in stoppage time.
Arsenal, 5 - Real Madrid 1. It's not the best way to fall and relinquish the throne. Ancelotti knows it, who isn't unaware that his cycle at Bernabéu has already ended.
MB could know at the end of the match that Ancelotti will finish LaLiga and manage the Copa del Rey final, but he won't be at the Club World Cup. Florentino will release him to start working with Brazil.
A glorious cycle is coming to an end. With Ancelotti, Modric, Lucas Vázquez, Alaba, and Tchouaméni will leave.