It wasn't supposed to end like this. Florentino Perez didn't splash out €300 million to see Real Madrid crash out to Lyon. This years final will be held in the Santiago Bernabeu, but sadly for the white half of the capital, Real Madrid won't be there. More than their inability to convert just the one chance tonight, Real Madrid will surely look back to the first leg in Lyon as the moment when their Champions League dream began to fall apart. That failure to score an away goal in France really set the tone for tonights clash, and although they got an early goal from Cristiano Ronaldo and pretty much dominated the opening 45 minutes, they visibly grew more and more nervous in the second half, terrified that Lyon would deliver the knockout blow.
And it came just when Real Madrid dreaded it most, with only 15 minutes remaining. Far too little time for them to mount an incredible comeback, much like the one witnessed only days before in the same arena. In fairness we could be talking about a different result had Gonzalo Higuain not gone all Ronny Rosenthal on us, as he shot against the woodwork when scoring seemed easier early in the first half. But it wasnt to be, and as Madrid gradually retreated into their shells, Lyon grew in strength. After being outplayed in the first half, Lyon coach Claude Puel made a couple of important switches at half-time, sending on Kim Kallstrom and switching Jeremy Toulalan to centre-half, and the changes worked wonders. You could sense the tension building among the Madrid fans long before Lyon struck gold, they knew what was coming. Miralem Pjanic got the goal; a bullet of a shot from a Lisandro Lopez lay-off which gave Iker Casillas no chance, and from then on Lyon could easily have had two more, as Lisandro and Delgado squandered easy opportunities to put Madrid fully to the sword. For the sixth straight year, Real Madrid fall at the first knockout hurdle.
Questions to come out of this disaster. What will the repercussions be for Señor Pelligrini? He'll be fearing the worst for sure, but they would be foolish to give him the boot so early in his reign, regardless of his strange substitutions tonight. What Real Madrid need right now is stability. Is Kaká worth €68 million? Not a chance, not on this evidence. Is Cristiano worth €86 million. Probably, but he can´t do it alone. Was Pelligrini wrong not to start Van der Vaart? We'll never know, but it wouldn't have done any harm, especially when you consider Esteban Graneros contribution tonight. Does spending silly amounts of money place unnecessary pressure on your manager and players? You have to say the expectation overwhelmed the Madrid team tonight. That second half performance was full of caution, when they really should have thrown off the shackles of doubt. They talked the talk before the match, but they couldn't transfer that onto the pitch. Expect a rocky few days in the Bernabeu as the postmortem commences.
As I was watching this, I figured the only way to define this match would be the cliche of "a game of two halves", Do you think Pellegrini will be sacked? I wonder if Florentino will be patient, or whether he'll try to steal Mourinho or Wenger midseason... maybe Hiddink could take a crack at it.
ReplyDeleteI reckon they should stick with Pelligrini. He got Villarreal to the semis, so he's no mug. I just reckon the players bottled it on the night. If they had got that second goal in the first half they'd have gone on to win the tie, but the longer they went on without scoring the more scared they became.
ReplyDeleteYes, but what about next season??? They might want someone else for next season's Champions League campaign.
ReplyDeleteQuite possibly. But I still think 6 months is too short a time to pass judgement on a team which was built this summer just gone. I reckon they'll wait till the end of the season, and if there are no signs that next year they could compete for the CL they'll get rid. A lot of managers will be put off taking on this job though. Little control over who they buy and an awful lot of pressure. Mourinho and Wenger would never manage on those terms. Hiddink could be a good shout. Benitez? :)
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