XtraTime Web Desk: The Real Madrid fans would love to forget this season as soon as possible. Three games, three losses. Real Madrid’s season was ended in a week. As if a pair of Clasico defeats to Barcelona were not enough, the LaLiga giant crashed out of the Champions League to Ajax on Tuesday. After a win over Levante on February 24, Madrid could not have imagined a week as bad as this.
The Santiago Bernabeu has seen four consecutive Madrid losses for just the third time ever and first since May 2004, and Santiago Solari’s position as head coach is surely hanging by a thread. It was a week that could not have gone any worse.
Wednesday, February 27 – Copa hopes dashed
After a 1-1 draw with Barcelona in the first leg of its Copa del Rey semifinal, Madrid had hope heading back home. It looked on track after a goalless first half, during which Vinicius Junior’s missed chances would come back to hurt it.
Led by Luis Suarez, Barca punished Madrid after the break, the Uruguayan scoring either side of Raphael Varane’s own goal to send Barca into a record sixth straight final courtesy of a 3-0 second-leg win.
Saturday, March 2 – Another Clasico defeat
A chance for some revenge, and an opportunity to get back into the LaLiga title race. Instead, Madrid fell to a first-half Ivan Rakitic goal, suffering a 1-0 loss. Rubbing salt into its wounds, Barca went ahead in Clasico victories for the first time since April 1931.
Madrid was left 12 points behind its league-leading rival with 12 games to go, its chances of LaLiga success all-but over.
Tuesday, March 5 – Champions League defence over
Carrying a 2-1 lead to the Santiago Bernabeu for the second leg of its last-16 tie against Ajax, Madrid was the strong favourite to progress. But it was ripped apart by the Eredivisie giant, which recorded an incredible 4-1 victory in the Spanish capital.
Hakim Ziyech, David Neres, Dusan Tadic and Lasse Schone scored for Ajax, while Marco Asensio’s goal gave Madrid brief hope before the three-time defending champion was eliminated at the earliest stage since 2009-10, Nacho Fernandez’s late red card adding to their misery.
It ended a week best quickly forgotten for Madrid.