COMMENT: Carlo Ancelotti's side came close to a
humiliating exit against a side they dispatched 9-2 on aggregate last
season. On this form, they are unlikely to retain their title
By Ben Hayward at the Santiago Bernabeu
This was a chance to right recent wrongs. Real Madrid had a point to
prove following their defeat at Athletic Club in La Liga on Saturday and
had vowed to react after their poor performances of late. But instead,
they looked more vulnerable than ever.
Schalke shocked the
champions by taking the lead after a scrappy start from Carlo
Ancelotti's men - something all too common in the last few weeks - and
went ahead again after Cristiano Ronaldo had headed an equaliser. And
even when Karim Benzema made it 3-2, still the German team came back and
they almost did the unthinkable as they went 4-3 up in the dying
minutes and pushed for another which would have won them the tie.
The
Bernabeu crowd met the final whistle with tangible relief, but plenty
of jeers for their team too. This was not the side that conquered Europe
last season, nor the one expected to build an era-defining team under
Ancelotti. This was simply not good enough.
Casillas could have
done better with the first goal and the shot stuck straight at him by
Christian Fuchs that he could only help into the corner. And the Madrid
captain was caught out again as he parried Max Meyer's drive into the
path of Klaas-Jan Huntelaar for Schalke's second.
Another Ronaldo
header and a fine finish from Benzema restored relative calm, but chaos
returned and Casillas was at fault for a third time, failing to react
as Leroy Sane curled home from outside the box for 3-3.
In front
of Casillas, Madrid missed the organisation of the injured Sergio Ramos.
Raphael Varane and Pepe were guilty of poor positioning and chaotic
co-ordination as they allowed the Schalke forwards time and space to
attack at wiill. Varane was prone to lapses in concentration and
careless passes at the back, while Pepe was caught ball-watching and
looked off the pace as the German side scored a late fourth.
That
goal originated from a rare Luka Modric mistake as the Croat's intended
intervention inadvertently set up Huntelaar, although the former Real
striker still had to find his way between three Madrid defenders to
latch onto the loose ball and beat Casillas with a thunderous drive.
That error aside, Modric gave Madrid much more composure and slicker
circulation of the ball in midfield, something Ancelotti had been
complaining about after the loss at Athletic at the weekend.
On
Sunday against Levante, Ramos may be back too, while James Rodriguez is
also on the mend. Those three have been badly missed but even when they
are back, Madrid will need to do far better than this to have any hope
of defending the crown they won in Lisbon last May.
Ancelotti
said on Monday that he hoped Madrid would bounce back to build
confidence ahead of the Clasico clash against Barcelona on March 22, but
playing like this, nobody will be scared of the Italian's side.
"There
is little to say," the Italian admitted afterwards. "We are
experiencing an obvious dip in form and with an attitude like that, we
won't go very far. We played badly and it's not good for our image or
the image of this club. The jeers are totally deserved."
But the
55-year-old added: "I have spoken to the players and we want to do a lot
better than that. Things change quickly in football - in December we
were on a high after winning 22 games in a row. Now we are at a low but
the fans' jeers can wake us up."
Despite the defeat and the poor
performance on Tuesday, Los Blancos remain alive in Europe and live to
fight another day, just as they did after losing 2-0 to Dortmund in last
year's quarter-final and almost crashing out of the competition
altogether. This was worse, however - a loss at home with four goals
conceded against a side currently lying fifth in the Bundesliga table.
To
have any hope of winning the Clasico or progressing further in the
Champions League, such performances must be confined to the past. For
Ancelotti, there is plenty of work to be done - starting with the
defence.
The midfielder on loan at Porto from the Bernabeu was
outstanding in his side's win over Basel on a night when his parent
club came up woefully short against Schalke
By Peter Staunton