Real Madrid near rare trophyless season - Will Arbeloa pay the price?
Dubai: Nine points behind rivals Barcelona in La Liga, knocked out early in the Copa del Rey, and now eliminated from the UEFA Champions League, Real Madrid are on course for a rare trophyless season, their first in five years.
Heading into the second-leg of their Champions League quarter-final against Bayern Munich, trailing 2-1 on aggregate, Real Madrid manager Alvaro Arbeloa would have been hoping for another famous “remontada”, the kind of comeback the club have so often produced in this competition.
In what will be remembered as an all-time classic Champions League knockout match, Madrid could hardly have asked for a better start, with Arda Guler levelling the tie just a minute in at the Allianz Arena, only for Bayern’s Aleksandar Pavlovic to restore the home side’s aggregate lead just five minutes later.
Guler struck again for the visitors with a stunning free-kick, but was again left frustrated as Harry Kane responded just seven minutes before the break.
As the first half looked set to draw to a close, the drama continued with Kylian Mbappe putting Madrid 3-2 ahead on the night, leaving the tie level at 4-4 on aggregate.
Neutral fans would have hoped for a similarly dramatic second half, but it never materialised, as the game became increasingly tight until Eduardo Camavinga was controversially shown a second yellow card for delaying the restart after Bayern were awarded a free-kick.
Momentum swung firmly in the home side’s favour from this point and Luis Díaz struck a decisive goal with four minutes remaining, before Michael Olise sealed the tie in stoppage time, sending Real Madrid crashing out of Europe.
Is Arbeloa's sacking inevitable?
Whilst Arbeloa couldn’t have asked much more from his players in terms of effort, a rocky four months in charge has left his role as head coach in question.
In what could be the first time in 16 years since the club have gone two consecutive seasons without winning a major trophy, Arbeloa spoke openly about the consequences he could face, with both Manuel Pellegrini and Zinedine Zidane having previously left the club after overseeing trophyless campaigns.
"I will understand any decision the club makes. I'm a Real Madrid man through and through. I care about this club, the players and the supporters a lot more than I care about myself," said Arbeloa following the defeat.
"My goal when I became this team's coach was never to prove that I'm a good coach; it was always to just help the players and be at their side and help the club and I'll do that until my last day in charge.
"I feel like I did everything I could to help this team win. I do everything I can every day.
"I will respect the club's decision. But I'm not thinking about that. It's a decision of the club. I'm a man of the club and all I want is for Madrid to win, regardless of who their coach is."
While taking responsibility for the defeat, the former Real Madrid player also made clear he felt Camavinga’s second yellow card for time-wasting was harsh and unjustified.
"I am the one responsible for the defeats and I will always take the consequences from that," he said.
"We feel really upset, really angry, really disappointed. This felt like a defining game in our season."
