Real Madrid One Inch Towards Emptiness

The season seems to be ending contrary to the expectations of Real Madrid. A crushing defeat to Arsenal has revealed Real's weakest side, which has a significant potential to lead them towards total failure. Real's chances of winning a trophy now rest solely on domestic competitions. Even then, "Los Blancos" must overcome the challenge posed by Barcelona.

Barcelona is like a great wall that Real must overcome to save the season by winning a trophy. After being eliminated from the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League, Real's remaining hopes lie in the Copa del Rey and La Liga. Unfortunately, to win those two trophies, they must defeat Barca.

Real is scheduled to meet Barca in the final of the Copa del Rey, Sunday (27/4/2025). In La Liga, Barca still leads the standings with a four-point advantage over Real. With seven matches remaining, Real still has the opportunity to surpass Barca if they can win in the "El Clasico" match that will take place in the 35th week.

However, this season, Real has not been able to gain an advantage over Barca even once. In two encounters in the Spanish Super Cup and La Liga, Real has always lost by a significant margin. In the final of the Spanish Super Cup, Real was defeated 2-5. Meanwhile, in the first league encounter, Real was overwhelmed 0-4. Barca's new coach, Hansi Flick, is well aware of how to neutralize Real under the guidance of Carlo Ancelotti.

The record of the meeting is more than enough as a warning sign that Real are very likely to end the season without a trophy. This is ironic considering that Real were initially predicted to be able to win three trophies at once (treble winner) this season.

The signal of failure began with Real's defeat to Arsenal. The Champions League has long been believed to be Real's natural habitat. In the Champions League, Real has a tendency to be able to realize magical things. Therefore, many hoped for the emergence of a Remontada or revival in the second meeting against Arsenal. The long-awaited Remontada never appeared and this affected Real's credibility for the rest of the season.

If Real can't even pull off a Remontada in their natural habitat, how can they possibly compete with Barca who are currently dominating Spain? At this point, it's safe to say that Real can only salvage their season if Barca slip up.

When I finish here, I will thank this club. That (farewell) could happen tomorrow, in 10 days, in a month, or in a year.

The most compelling factor reinforcing suspicion regarding Real's failure is the statement from Ancelotti, which seems to indicate that he has thrown in the towel regarding the situation. Ancelotti implied that this is his final season at Real, even though the contract of the Italian coach still has a term until the next season.

English sports media, Sky Sports, even predicted that Ancelotti would leave sooner. He is predicted to leave Real after the Spanish King's Cup final. The big picture is that Real is very likely to kick Ancelotti out earlier if he proves to fail again in the Spanish King's Cup final.

"When I finish here, I will thank this club. That (farewell) could happen tomorrow, in 10 days, a month, or a year from now. But whether my contract ends or does not end, I do not care," said Ancelotti.

Ancelotti may have realized that the pressure on him has increased following the defeat to Arsenal. It is not the loss itself that has led to a flood of criticism, but rather the style of play or strategic choices.

Facing a strong Arsenal in aerial duels, the Real players opted to deliver more crosses. They recorded 23 crosses in the first half. Since the 2003-2004 season, this is the highest number of crosses by Real in the first half.

Instead of attempting more effective strategies, the Real players continue to try cross passes even though they know they do not have a pure striker in the team. This raises doubts about Ancelotti.

"Ultimately, they are a team that defends well, is well-organized, presses effectively, and is difficult to find space against. We made a lot of crosses, but this year we do not have Joselu, a natural striker up front," said Real goalkeeper, Thibaut Courtois.

What Arsenal did to leave Real in a state of confusion serves as an important inspiration for Flick in maintaining his superiority in the domestic arena. Even without the "lesson" from Arsenal, Flick already knows how to outsmart Real.

The Opta supercomputer predicts that Real has only a 13 percent chance of catching up to Barca and winning the league. This is a relatively small chance, but it is not impossible to achieve. In the remainder of the season, Real deserves to fight for every opportunity.

Only then can Real avoid the threat of nothingness and prove that the Remontada is not non-existent, but merely delayed. (REUTERS)