Real Madrid are aiming to produce a result for the ages in their crucial UEFA Champions League battle with Arsenal at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu tonight.
The defending UCL champions – and 15-times European Cup/Champions League winners – need something special in the Spanish capital to avoid bowing out at the quarterfinal stage.
Mikel Arteta’s team sent shockwaves across Europe with a ruthless 3-0 first-leg win, inspired by two Declan Rice free-kicks, leaving Carlo Ancelotti needing a historic night in the second leg.
Real Madrid are a club steeped in UCL history, as the dominant force in recent years under the leadership of Ancelotti, but defeat in North London was a jolt to the system.
Los Blancos have never come from three goals down in between two legs of a UCL knockout game before – primarily because they often do not need to – but they have a squad stacked with experience of winning the competition.
No set of players has as much experience of raising their game in crunch moments, and fighting back in Europe, despite the yawning aggregate gap between the sides.
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Ancelotti was typically unflustered ahead of the game, with midfield star Jude Bellingham claiming the squad have been planning the comeback since boarding the team bus to leave the Emirates Stadium, just over a week ago.
Despite the majority of Real Madrid fans praying for an early goal in their favour, to pile the pressure on Arteta’s inexperienced side, Ancelotti has insisted that will not decide the contest.
“I don’t think it’s definitive to score early. Of course, scoring early is important for the match. But the most important thing is to have good control of the game and be at your best from the start,” as per quotes from Marca.
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“When you have good control of the game, you can score at any moment. That’s my message.
“Arsenal are a very well-organized team. They’re not the most experienced, but they have a clear idea of what they’re doing, both defensively and offensively. They’re very focused on what they have to do.
“The motivation is there and I want the players to be calm before the game. I want the players to have a clear strategy for the match.”
Real Madrid have never beaten – or scored a goal against Arsenal in competitive action – across three meetings, with the Gunners dumping the Spanish giants out of the UCL back in 2006, following Thierry Henry’s all-star showing at the Bernabeu.
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