A Night Tailored for Real Madrid

On the brink of elimination after a 3-0 defeat in London, Real Madrid will rely on their arsenal of miracles this Wednesday to revive their favourite competition and reach the semi-finals of the former European Cup for the thirty-fourth time. The Santiago Bernabéu, a fertile ground for comebacks, both old and recent, is once again the lifeline for the Chamartín team to avoid elimination by the 'Gunners', which could put Carlo Ancelotti on the ropes and threaten to turn a club that has been a picture of calm in recent seasons into a powder keg. Having digested the thrashing at the Emirates, the comeback has once again become the magic word for a team facing a night that, as Jude Bellingham noted beforehand, is tailored to their legend.

"It depends on us, and I believe there's nothing we haven't done in the Champions League," proclaimed the Stourbridge midfielder on the eve of a match that places Real Madrid in a scenario where they excel, but which is fraught with danger.

The statistics of the top continental competition show that only fourteen of the 238 teams that lost by three or more goals in the first leg away managed to overturn the tie by winning at home. The most recent precedents were set by Deportivo La Coruña, who overturned a 4-1 deficit at San Siro by winning 4-0 against Milan at Riazor; Barça, who overturned a 4-0 loss to PSG at the Parc des Princes with a 6-1 win at Camp Nou; Roma, who knocked out the Catalans by winning 3-0 at the Olimpico after losing 4-1 in Barcelona; and Liverpool, who once again made Barça the victim of epic comebacks, having won 3-0 at home but losing 4-0 at Anfield.

One has to go much further back in time to find a similar feat by Real Madrid. It happened in November 1975, when the team then managed by Miljan Miljanic overcame a 4-1 defeat inflicted by Derby County by winning 5-1 at the Bernabéu. Santillana sealed a victory in extra time that became the baptismal font of the comeback mystique. Similar feats would follow against Celtic, Anderlecht, Inter Milan, and Borussia Mönchengladbach, all of which helped shape the "stage fright" that Jorge Valdano sanctified. "Ninety minutes at the Bernabéu are very long," said Juanito before the whites defeated the 'Nerazzurri' in 1985. Much more recently, and much to their chagrin, PSG, Chelsea, Manchester City, and Bayern would attest to this.

Honouring that legacy is the purpose with which Ancelotti's soldiers will appear this Wednesday, having turned the despair that gripped the team in London into the hope that fills the 'Merengues' on the eve of another nerve-wracking night at the Bernabéu. "Real Madrid has all the resources to change this tie. We have the quality, the commitment, the experience of many players, and we have the fans. The resources are there; we just need to bring out the best in each of us," proclaimed Carletto, who advised his players to show "head, heart, and guts," elements that have been tangential so far in the whites' grey season, but through which the path to glory necessarily passes for a team that has not won by three goals in two and a half months and faces a rock.

No one has scored three goals against Arsenal since Luton did so on December 5, 2023, in a match that ended 3-4 in favour of the 'Gunners'. The last time they lost by three goals was on May 14, 2023, when they fell 0-3 to Brighton. To find scores that would now suffice for Real Madrid to advance, one must go back to the 2021-22 season, when City defeated Arsenal 5-0 and Liverpool handed them a 4-0 loss.

Mikel Arteta's side arrives at the Bernabéu boasting 18 clean sheets in the 49 matches they have played across all competitions, six of them in the eleven games that have brought them to the brink of the Champions League semi-finals, a stage they have not reached since 2009. However, they carry another statistic that could be promising for Real Madrid. Only three 'Gunners' members, Mikel Merino, Martin Odegaard, and Thomas Partey, have previously played at the Chamartín venue. Whether this element proves anecdotal or decisive will depend on whether an ignifugous or flammable Arsenal takes the field.

Real Madrid: Courtois, Valverde, Asencio, Rüdiger, Fran García, Tchouaméni, Modric, Rodrygo, Bellingham, Vinicius, and Mbappé.

Arsenal: Raya, Timber, Saliba, Kiwior, Lewis-Skelly, Thomas Partey, Rice, Odegaard, Saka, Mikel Merino, and Martinelli.

Referee: François Letexier (France).

Time: 21:00 h.

Stadium: Santiago Bernabéu.

TV: Movistar Liga de Campeones.