Real Madrid had kept up in the first half against Arsenal, although the performance was not exactly brilliant, but saw themselves dismantled by the Gunners in the second half. Once again the attitude of the Real Madrid stars came into question, a theme of the season.
Los Blancos have been struggling to balance their side since the addition of Kylian Mbappe, with four primarily attack-minded players in the starting XI. Carlo Ancelotti has time and again asked for commitment to defending, and tried to convince his stars to put in the work without the ball. Previously Ancelotti had reportedly even shown Arsenal forwards as an example to his own in February – a message that clearly was not picked up.
The statistics make grim reading for Los Blancos. With their work ethic already being questioned by fans and press alike in the Spanish capital, Marca remark that collectively, Real Madrid ran a total of 101.2km at the Emirates. More than a kilometre less per player than their opponents in London, who were up at 113.9km.
Compared to Bayern Munich and Inter, the statistics look even worse. Their players ran 125.6km and 123km respectively, in Bayern’s case an almost 25% increase on Real Madrid. As much as the effort has been questioned this season, including by Ancelotti, the methods of fitness coach Antonio Pintus have also come under fire. The Italian generally plans the season for Real Madrid to peak physically in the months of February, March and April, a boost that has not played out this season.
Some will place the blame at the feet of Ancelotti once again, who is obviously in charge of ensuring his side are motivated. The Italian himself questioned their attitude once again after the game, also taking responsibility for the defeat. It could well end up costing Ancelotti his position, with his position increasingly weak.
