‘Humiliation’ is the word of the day on Spanish front pages after Real Madrid were trounced in their Champions League quarter-final first leg at the hands of Arsenal.
The reigning European champions now have a mountain to climb if they seek to keep their title defence alive, with an awe-inspiring Declan Rice free-kick double propelling the Gunners to a 3-0 win at the Emirates.
Mikel Arteta’s makeshift number nine Mikel Merino also fired in a perfectly-placed effort to add to Arsenal’s advantage ahead of the return leg at the Santiago Bernabeu, capping off what was arguably Arsenal’s greatest ever European night.
For Los Blancos, on the other hand, their trip to North London was one they won’t be able to forget for a while, outclassed by a side that have now left their hopes of a 16th Champions League title hanging by a thread.
The sentiment of despair was one that was echoed across the Spanish media this morning, with the nation’s newspapers leading off the result that reverberated across the continent.
Mundo Deportivo’s front-page headline simply read: “Humiliated,” while Sport showed a picture of a dejected Jude Bellingham accompanied by the headline of: “Really hurting.”
That said, there was not an absence of hope or optimism on the frontpages, with some newspapers quick to insist that remarkable Real Madrid recovery is far from beyond the realms of possibility.
AS led with: “Obliged to perform another miracle,” while notoriously pro-Real Madrid paper Marca wrote: “Humiliated, but for Madrid nothing is impossible.”
For all of their recent comeback history, Los Blancos will have to prove their powers of recovery to a level they have never achieved before.
Real Madrid have never recovered from a three-goal first-leg deficit to win a Champions League knockout tie, something they will need to do if they look to keep their European title defence alive.
Already requiring a stunning turnaround, Bellingham admitted that Real were “lucky” to only concede three at the Emirates but believes the tie is not yet out of sight.
Arsenal will now look to defend their significant advantage in next week’s second leg as they travel to the Bernabeu on April 16, which potentially poses a boom or bust scenario for under-pressure Real boss Carlo Ancelotti.
The winners of the tie will face either Paris Saint-Germain or Aston Villa in the semi-finals, who meet for the first time in the French capital this evening.
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