M
SM

La Liga

Champions League

TIMELINE

Where has it gone wrong for Real Madrid this season?

Tuesday's 4-1 home defeat to Ajax saw their Champions League title defence come to an abrupt end.

Real Madrid's troubles continued on Tuesday as they crashed out of the Champions League at the last-16 stage following a 4-1 loss to Ajax.

It was a fourth defeat in five matches in all competitions for Santiago Solari's men, and each of those losses have been at home.

Here, Press Association Sport looks at what has gone wrong for Real since they won the Champions League for a third successive year last season.

Managerial change

Zinedine Zidane stepped down as Real head coach on May 31 (Nick Potts/PA)

The man who led the club to each of those Champions League triumphs, Zinedine Zidane, generated shockwaves just five days after the hat-trick was completed when he announced he was to step down as head coach. Julen Lopetegui was brought in as Zidane's successor but lasted only until October, being sacked the day after a 5-1 LaLiga thrashing at Barca. The former Spain boss oversaw just 14 competitive matches, with the final seven featuring only one win and five defeats. Solari, promoted from being in charge of Real Madrid B, subsequently took the helm and a very mixed bag of results has followed. Los Blancos lost in the Copa del Rey semi-finals and LaLiga against Barcelona, inside four days, compounded by the Ajax defeat. The recent losses at the Bernabeu have also included a 2-1 reverse to Girona. Real are currently third in LaLiga, 12 points behind leaders Barca. While it looks like they are missing Zidane's guidance considerably, it should be noted that they finished third last term under the Frenchman, with a 17-point gap to Ernesto Valverde's champions.

Ronaldo's departure

Cristiano Ronaldo joined Juventus in July (Martin Rickett/PA).

Zidane was one of two Real greats to leave the club last summer, with Los Blancos' all-time top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo moving on to Juventus in July – that is the loss of a forward who netted 44 goals for the club last season, including 15 in the Champions League. The most high-profile incoming player last summer was goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, while 18-year-old forward Vinicius Junior's switch from Flamengo became official in July. He has gone on to score four times. Real's top scorer so far this term is Karim Benzema with 20 goals.

Problems for Bale?

Gareth Bale has been with Real since 2013 (Nick Potts/PA).

With Ronaldo gone, the man in Real's attack with the most star power is Gareth Bale, who ended the Ajax match with an ankle injury, three days on from being jeered by Los Blancos fans in the 1-0 loss to Barca. There have been suggestions he is still unsettled in Spain and is cut off from his team-mates, a view not helped by the fact he refused to celebrate his winning goal against Levante recently. However, Bale's agent Jonathan Barnett has rubbished such reports and insists the 29-year-old is "happy" and intending to stay beyond the summer. Bale, who scored 21 times last term, has 13 goals so far this season.



amp_article_352496 : Collect and Make Data not in DataBase  : 
last updated article - 2019-03-06 13:18:34:
html db last update - 2019-03-10 13:06:39 :

ex - 7200 : read : write cache and make html
Share this article now:

Subscribe to our Newsletter


Transfer Talk Daily
Match previews - twice weekly
Morning Briefing (7am UTC)
UC
Get the latest transfer news, match previews and news direct to your inbox!
Recommended Next on SM
The key figures from Ajax's stunning victory against Real Madrid
Live Commentary: Chelsea 0-0 Wolves
Coutinho 'desperate for Man United move'
Liverpool 'to offer Van Dijk new contract'

Loading ...

Failed to load data.

Loading ...

Failed to load data.

Select and display your favourite team's news and scores in this panel
Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Manchester CityMan City30242479215874
2Liverpool30227168175173
3Tottenham HotspurSpurs30201957322561
4Manchester UnitedMan Utd29177558382058
5Arsenal29176661392257
6Chelsea29176649301957
7Wolverhampton WanderersWolves30128103735244
8Watford30127114244-243
9West Ham UnitedWest Ham30116133743-639
10Leicester CityLeicester30115143842-438
11Everton30107134142-137
12Bournemouth30114154154-1337
13Newcastle UnitedNewcastle3097142938-934
14Crystal Palace3096153641-533
15Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton2996143242-1033
16Southampton3079143450-1630
17Burnley3086163457-2330
18Cardiff CityCardiff3084182757-3028
19Fulham3045212868-4017
20Huddersfield TownHuddersfield3035221553-3814
Scroll for more - Tap for full version

Subscribe to our Newsletter


Transfer Talk Daily
Match previews - twice weekly
Morning Briefing (7am UTC)
UC
Get the latest transfer news, match previews and news direct to your inbox!

Loading ...

Failed to load data.

Loading ...

Failed to load data.

Loading ...

Failed to load data.

Select and display your favourite team's news and scores in this panel
Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Manchester CityMan City30242479215874
2Liverpool30227168175173
3Tottenham HotspurSpurs30201957322561
4Manchester UnitedMan Utd29177558382058
5Arsenal29176661392257
6Chelsea29176649301957
7Wolverhampton WanderersWolves30128103735244
8Watford30127114244-243
9West Ham UnitedWest Ham30116133743-639
10Leicester CityLeicester30115143842-438
11Everton30107134142-137
12Bournemouth30114154154-1337
13Newcastle UnitedNewcastle3097142938-934
14Crystal Palace3096153641-533
15Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton2996143242-1033
16Southampton3079143450-1630
17Burnley3086163457-2330
18Cardiff CityCardiff3084182757-3028
19Fulham3045212868-4017
20Huddersfield TownHuddersfield3035221553-3814
Scroll for more - Tap for full version
X

We value your privacy

A part of our GDPR compliance we need to ask for your consent. We and our partners use technology such as cookies on Sports Mole to personalise content and ads, provide social media features, and analyse our traffic. Click below to consent to the use of this technology on Sports Mole.