Add Category
Updated
Nine months ago, Spanish football giants Real Madrid completed a hat-trick of Champions League titles, repeating a feat not seen since the great Bayern Munich side of the 1970s won the old European Cup three years running.
Key points:
- Spanish football giants Real Madrid have won the last three Champions League titles and four out of the last five
- But Dutch side Ajax has dumped them out of this year's competition, with a 5-3 aggregate win
- The humiliating exit all but ends Real's chance of any title this season, and makes major changes likely at the club
However the team that seemed all but unbeatable in Europe — with four titles in five years — has been crushed by Dutch side Ajax, thrashed 4-1 in their home fortress of the Bernabeu Stadium, bringing a brutal end to an era of football dominance.
Ajax went into the second leg of their round of 16 Champions League tie trailing 2-1, with Real entering as heavy favourites having scored two vital away goals in Amsterdam three weeks ago.
Although strapped financially compared to their bigger European rivals, Ajax has a long and distinguished history on the continent as a source of incredible talent — with the likes of the great Johan Cruyff making their name at the club.
With stars including defender Matthijs de Ligt, midfielder Frenkie de Jong and forward Hakim Ziyech, the Dutch team had looked strong for long periods in the first leg, but were expected by some to struggle in Madrid.
That misconception lasted barely seven minutes, as the visitors took advantage of an early mistake and punished Real ruthlessly.
Toni Kroos was dispossessed, and the ball ended up with Dusan Tadic. He flashed down the right wing and dragged it back for Ziyech to sweep the ball home.
It was still advantage Real, with two away goals to Ajax's one. But Ajax were emboldened by the early score, and upped the ante, swarming forward and putting Real under pressure.
Things got worse for Madrid. Ajax moved the ball out from the back, with Tadic again acting as provider after taking on the Real midfield, his brilliant pass into the penalty area fell perfectly for David Neres who rounded the keeper and finished smartly to give Ajax the lead in the tie.
Ajax were faster, playing smarter and more aggressively. If Real were to have any hope, they had to strike after half-time.
But instead, it was Tadic whose smashing strike in the 62nd minute all but ended home hopes of a win in the tie.
Ajax fans had to wait for four long minutes for confirmation, as officials consulted the VAR, but once the goal was given the visitors led 4-2 on aggregate.
Real pulled one back through Marco Asensio with 20 minutes left, but they couldn't make more headway, and Ajax midfielder Lasse Schone fizzed a free-kick in from near the sideline to fly over the keeper and into the corner of the net to cement the win.
It was over.
In the stands was controversial Real defender Sergio Ramos, who had been suspended for the second leg after being ruled to have deliberately earned a yellow card — so he missed the match but cleared his cards so he wasn't at risk for a possible quarter-final.
Ramos could only sit and watch as his team was dismantled by Ajax.
For Real defender Dani Carvajal, the loss came as a hammer blow.
"I think I have never felt this awful, I do not know how to explain it," Carvajal said after Ajax finished off their 5-3 aggregate victory.
"This week everything has gone against us. Tonight we cannot look for excuses. Our opponents were better and they deserved to go through.
"We have to show our faces and not hide, our season has been a piece of s***."
In retrospect, the Champions League final win over Liverpool in late May last year came from a team on the brink.
Ever since then, Los Blancos have been falling apart.
Within days of the Champions League final, coach Zinedine Zidane announced he was leaving the club.
That was one blow. Right before the World Cup, Real announced the hiring of Spanish team manager Julen Lopetegui.
It was supposed to take effect from the end of the world tournament, but within days of the announcement the national team reacted by firing Lopetegui.
An unsettled and largely ineffective Spanish side limped out of the Cup in the round of 16, beaten by hosts Russia.
Then within days of the World Cup final, came even bigger news, as superstar Cristiano Ronaldo was sold to Juventus in Italy for a reported 100 million Euros ($159.60 million).
At the time there was a mixed response, as Ronaldo was seen as the linchpin behind Real's big successes in recent years.
But at 33, his best years were seen by many to be behind him.
Nightmare year gets worse for Real Madrid
Simply put, Lopetegui's time at Madrid was a disaster.
After some early wins, a 3-0 loss to Sevilla in September was a sign of things to come.
Further La Liga losses to Alaves and Levante, were followed by a 5-1 Clasico thumping by Barcelona at the Nou Camp.
The following day, Real sacked Lopetegui and replaced him with Santiago Solari.
More league losses followed toward the end of 2018 and early in 2019, as Barcelona took control of the league.
The team struggled on, but last week the Madrid side lost their last realistic chance of a title for the season, when they were beaten by rivals Barcelona in the Copa del Rey knockout competition in the semi-finals.
After a 1-1 draw in Barcelona, Real were beaten 3-0 in front of their home crowd at the Bernabeu, with two goals from Luis Suarez and an own goal from defender Raphael Varane.
The boos were getting louder for Madrid coach Solari and his team — and they only grew on Sunday when Real lost a Clasico to Barcelona 1-0 at home to fall 12 points behind their bitter rivals.
Add in the latest horror Champions League result and those three failures at home will only build the sense that it's time for a major overhaul at the club.
Over at Juventus, meanwhile, Cristiano Ronaldo has 19 goals in 33 games — his side is a mammoth 16 points clear on top of Serie A, although they were knocked out in the quarter finals of the Italian Cup, and trail Atletico Madrid 2-0 going into the second leg of their Champions League tie next week.
If things weren't bad enough, at least one member of the victorious Ajax side will be heading to Barcelona next season.
Young gun midfielder de Jong, who cut Real's defence to ribbons with strong movement and top-notch passing, will be calling the Nou Camp home in 2019/20.
After the events of the last week or two, that prospect will send a shudder through players, coaches and fans of Los Blancos.
For the world-famous team, the pressure to bounce back starts now.
Topics: sport, soccer, champions-league, spain, netherlands
First posted