After a Bitter Night in the Champions League, Criticism Didn't Take Long to Arrive. Real Madrid Bid Farewell to the Tournament Leaving an Image Very Far from What Their Crest Demands. As Always Happens After a Failure, They Start Looking for Culprits.
A Painful Elimination
Arsenal Not Only Eliminated Madrid, They Did It Without Suffering Much. In Neither of the Two Matches Did It Seem Like the Whites Could Really Get Into the Tie, and That, in This Club, Hurts. A Lot.
That's Why Harsh Analyses Are Already Being Heard. The First to Speak Out Was Manu Carreño, Who Didn't Hold Back. For Him, There Are Two Players Who Are Well Below What Is Desired and No, He Didn't Just Point to Vinícius.
"No Leaders"
Carreño Started His Comment with a Clear Phrase: "This Team Has No Leaders." A Statement That Many Quickly Interpreted as a Criticism of the Heavyweights in the Locker Room, but the Journalist Went Further, He Gave Names.
He Was Undoubtedly Referring to the Two Forwards Expected to Make a Difference: Vinícius Júnior and Kylian Mbappé. Two World Stars Who Haven't Shone at the Key Moment.
Vinícius Tried, but It Wasn't Enough
The Brazilian Was a Bit More Active. He Tried, He Faced, He Scored a Goal, but It Wasn't His Night Either. His Usual Unbalance Was Absent, at Times, He Seemed to Run Out of Ideas.
Carreño Was Also Critical of Him: "He Tried but It Didn't Work, He's Very Far from His Best Form." He's Not Wrong. Although the Effort Was There, for Madrid, That's Not Enough.
Mbappé, Very Far from What Is Desired
The Spotlight Was on Him. Mbappé Had the Opportunity to Show That He Came to Real Madrid for the Big Nights, but He Remained in Promises. Just a Long Shot Without Direction, Little More.
Carreño Was Direct: "Mbappé Very Discreet, He Didn't Come for This, Much More Is Expected." And He's Not the Only One Who Thinks So. The Frenchman Ended the Match Amid Whistles, Something Unthinkable a Few Months Ago.
It's True That He Moved, Sought Spaces, Tried to Participate... but He Never Managed to Impose His Quality. He Wasn't Decisive. That, for a Player of His Stature, Starts to Generate Doubts.
An Opportunity to Redeem Themselves
Both Still Have a Bullet in the Chamber. The Copa Final Can Change the Narrative. Madridists Hope They Will Step Up, Assume the Leadership That Is Demanded of Them.
Because If There's One Thing That's Clear, It's That Real Madrid Can't Afford for Their Two Great Stars to Disappear on Key Nights. The Crest Weighs. They, More Than Anyone, Must Be Up to the Task.