A ‘crisis’ has reportedly occurred in Real Madrid’s locker room only one day before the first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal match against Arsenal, according to reports.
The team coached by Carlo Ancelotti will be heading to the Emirates Stadium for the opening leg of their match with the goal of further strengthening their defence of their European championship.
They advanced to the round of 16 after prevailing over Atletico Madrid in a penalty shootout after claiming victory over Manchester City in the play-off round.
As a result of allegedly breaking UEFA regulations concerning “the basic rules of decent conduct” during post-match celebrations against Atletico, four Real Madrid players, namely Antonio Rudiger, Kylian Mbappe, Dani Ceballos, and Vinicius Junior, faced the possibility of being suspended from the club.
But both Rudiger and Mbappe were only given a fine and a one-match ban, the latter of which will not be enforced as long as neither player commits a “similar infraction” within the following year. Rudiger and Mbappe were successful in avoiding the punishment.
Vinicius, on the other hand, was exonerated of any misconduct, while Ceballos was simply given a fine.
Nevertheless, a fresh problem has emerged just a few days before the match against Arsenal on the schedule.
‘Deeply rattled’ is how the Real Madrid locker room was described by the Spanish news agency Marca following the team’s 2-1 loss to Valencia at the Bernabeu on Saturday.
Valencia took the lead in the first half thanks to Mouctar Diakhaby, and Vinicius, who had missed a penalty kick when the score was tied at zero, equalled the score on the fifty-minute mark.
The team coached by Carlos Corberan, however, startled the incumbents of the Champions League with a game-winning goal in the 95th minute, which further strengthened Valencia’s chances of remaining in La Liga.
For Real, they were unable to take advantage of the opportunity to move to a point parity with Barcelona at the top of the table, at least for a short period of time.
However, a resurgent Real Betis would eventually hold Hansi Flick’s team to a draw, allowing them to move four points ahead of the competition.
According to Marca, Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti was forced to “speak out” in the locker room. He reportedly declared that “nothing was lost, everything was still in reach, and that once again, everything will depend on the desire they put into the pitch in the upcoming matches.”
At this point, Real will attempt to achieve their first-ever victory over Arsenal throughout this week.
Arsene Wenger’s team defeated Los Blancos by a score of 1-0 on aggregate in the last 16 stage of the Champions League during the 2005/06 season. These two matches were the only competitive matches that have ever been played between the two teams.
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