There has been no shortage of criticisms of Real Madrid over the last week, ever since their three-goal defeat at the Emirates against Arsenal. One of the most common complaints, now mainstream in the Spanish media after an entire season of Carlo Ancelotti repeating it, is the amount that Real Madrid run.
Ancelotti has mentioned on numerous occasions the ‘collective commitment’, attitude, and defensive commitment of his players, in particular his stars up front, as a crucial part of any success Los Blancos were to have this season. After their wins over Manchester City, it appeared that had been solved, but it is an issue that has returned to the agenda.
Following the first leg at the Emirates, it was pointed out that Real Madrid had run 12.7km less than opponents Arsenal, and a remarkable 24.4km less than Bayern Munich did against Inter on the same night.
“It’s true that if you run more, you have more of a chance. You know, if you run 14km less than the opponent, it’s like playing with a player less,” Jude Bellingham told the media before the second leg. “Yes, it impacts your game. But the same thing happened last year: we didn’t run the most and we won the Champions League. We have to know what it means to run from one side to the other. We have to know how to run. Tomorrow we’ll want to run much more, and hopefully we’ll have a better plan to do it.”
In London, Real Madrid managed a total of 101.2km, and although they did increase that numbe at the Santiago Bernabeu, increasing it by 6.3km to 107.5km, they still trailed behind Arsenal. Mikel Arteta’s side covered 116km as per Cadena Cope, again outstripping Los Blancos by 8.5km in the Spanish capital.
While it was not quite the 14km that Bellingham mentioned, certainly it illustrated the feeling that Real Madrid found an Arsenal player there at every turn. On the one hand, Real Madrid may not need to run more if they are better and capable of hurting their opponents, with Arsenal dealing well with Real Madrid’s threats, the extra kilometres certainly worked in the Gunners’ favour.
