End of the line for frail Madrid
THE bigger they come, the harder they fall. After 1,011 days as Champions League holders, the 13-time winners Real Madrid crashed out of the competition after a crushing 4-1 defeat on the night and a 5-3 aggregate score.
It was humiliation. Gareth Bale watched it unfold from the bench and was helpless to change it when he came on as a first-half substitute.
Thibaut Courtois was as culpable as anyone in letting in the fourth from a direct freekick. As the half-time whistle went there were more whistles from the Bernabeu.
Real Madrid would need a second-half hero. With captain Sergio Ramos suspended and Cristiano Ronaldo sold, it looked as though it would be Bale’s night or goodnight.
Ajax almost made it three at the restart but Courtois saved from Donny van de Beek.
Karim Benzema broke down the left but after tricking his way past Hakim Ziyech he went for goal with a wild shot that went well wide of the far post. With Ajax’s next attack they scored the third and they got to celebrate it twice. Noussair Mazraoui won the ball from Sergio Reguilon and when the ball reached Dusan Tadic — who was the best player on the pitch — he postage stamped past Courtois.
Referee Felix Brych stopped the play to consult VAR. The ball looked to have gone out when Reguilon was dispossessed.
Bale (right) complaints and time stood still until Brych’s verdict sent the travelling Ajax supporters into raptures once more.
There was no way back now. Substitute led the
Marco Asensio gave supporters some hope by scoring for Madrid but it was quickly wiped out by Lasse Schone’s direct free-kick past Courtois who looked poorly positioned. The Ajax fans were now doing the Poznan behind Courtois’ goal. Up in his private box Ramos looked down nonplussed by events. He chose to miss this game by picking up a forced booking in the first leg. Madrid looked home and dry at that stage. Since then their season has imploded with the league and cup gone. They needed him on the pitch tonight, not looking down on one of the darkest nights in the club’s European Cup history. The blame game will start now and this time Bale will not be the only target.
Coach Santiago Solari will do well to last the season and the club will intensify efforts to bring in Mauricio Pochettino or Jose Mourinho.
To make matters worse, Sancho was sent off late on for a second yellow, but magnificent Ajax are in the quarter-finals for the first time since 2003.
Madrid have been knocked out or the first time since May 13, 2015. In that time there have been five managers: Carlo Ancelotti, Rafa Benitez, Zinedine Zidane, Julen Lopetegui and Santiago Solari.
REAL MADRID: Courtois, Carvajal, Varane, Nacho, Reguilon, Kroos, Casemiro (Valverdeat 87), Modric, Vazquez (Bale 29, Benzema, Vinícius Júnior (Asensio 35). Scorer: Asensio 70. AJAX: Onana, Mazraoui (Veltman 81), De Ligt, Blind, Tagliafico, Schöne (De Wit 73), de Jong, Ziyech, Van de Beek, Neres (Dolberg 74), Tadic. Scorers: Ziyech 7, Neres 18, Tadic 62, Schone 72. Referee: F Brych (Germany).