Well, I didn't actually expect this. Real are out of the CL just after being out of Copa Del Rey, not a great week for them at all. As for the game, I thought Ajax were great, all of the goals were sublime, it was a really good game of football. Kinda sad to see Real go this way, they really should have done better. Also, I have no doubt there will be a lot of controversy surrounding Ajax third goal, some will say it shouldn't have counted, others will say it make up for the canceled header in the first round. Personally, I just didn't wanted such a great goal to be disallowed so I was kind of glad. Also glad to see someone else is gonna get a shot at being champion as a neutral fan. Thought?

Imo : « Mouhahahahahahahaaaaa !!! « 

Real's time had come and everyone knew it, surprised it was Ajax, but makes no difference in the end.

A moment of silence on Ramos getting deliberately a yellow first leg to not miss the quarters :D I’m done 😂😂😂

@emo sorry bro can’t talk tactics now, I’m just high and laughing at my homies Madridista in front of me in the pub. They gifted me a Madrid shirt in my birthday with Ramos on it....

footballisaboutrivalryandbanter

It just seemed like all the fight and luck they've had the past three years banished. Real had two chances hit the post and then just completely fell apart defensively. Missing Ramos seriously hurt them. Tadic was incredible.

I’m gonna get a lot of shit for saying this, because Solari has done a better job than Lopetegui. But constantly choosing the same line up and formation was always going to come back to bite him. He has clearly tried to adapt from ZZ’s football ( from Marcelo/Ronaldo to Reguilon and Vinicius).
He has done a decent job in that Department. RM play decent football and are usually unlucky in front of goal.

But he literally doesn’t have a plan B. I don’t think he’s ever played anything other than 4 3 3. He is trying to add experience to players like Valverde and Ceballos, but RM have taken a lot of losses with him (Barcelona Moscow and Eibar all ended 3 0). He’s constantly relying on Bale who is doing nothing in attack. Isco and Mariano didn’t even make the bench today. Real Madrid are too weak in between the lines, there are gonna be games where Isco is a must play, I don’t know the problem, but it really isn’t good. Isco, Asensio and Mariano have been really underused.

I see this result due to 4 reasons:

1. Solari’s rigidness
2. Tired players, down to poor rotation
3. Sergio Ramos not playing ( very important to RM IMO)
4. Not signing enough experienced enough players (more Lopetegui and Perez)

Finally they won’t win it though, it’s been too long.

imagine Ajax winning UCL, yes pls

Not surprised tbh

Not surprised tbh

Agreed, not really a surprise i just didn't think it would be 4-1. They were also short odds 3/1 or 5/1 AUD here

Told you look to first CL thread told you Ajax are no joke this season, and Barca gave them a gift to send to holidays :D see you in pre season Madrid :p

if Ajax wins the CL, would that make them best team in the world? or Ajax beating Real Madrid, doesn't that make them best in the world too?

Btw people should also look at impressive run from Real Madrid before laughing at wounded Lion ( amean even Peps Barcelona didn't maintain this sort of run in CL). 4 semifinals and 4 finals in last 9 years. If Real didn't fully overwhelmed Barcelona domestically, it certainly did it in Europe.

They never played Barça, only Bayern and Juve and luckily everything went their side. But I agree under Ancelotti/ZIdane they dominated Europe despite being our....lol

I think Real has truely lost identity thus they are having crisis. Current manager doesn’t have any solution to when prime set up doesn’t work.

Real was successful in CL due their counter attacking ability with two speedy attacking players and incredible control in mid by Trio ( Kros, Modric and Casemiro). These three are still there but attacking spear of the team lacks the pace to play counter attacking football and also lacks the confidence in front of the goal. They are getting chances but many so many are missed.

Also, why would Real throw away Navas for Courtois? Goalkeeper has a direct impact on back four because under his leadership and vision they are often guided. Courtois f$cking sucked at doing that at Chelsea and at Atletico.

At last, I know you all hate to hear this because somehow Mourinho has fkced you into brains that you hate him and wish him death. However, man is engineer who has laid the foundation for this Real Madrid. He was incredibly unlucky in his semi finals, but to me he met his objective was to build formidable side to counter Peps Barcelona and stop his dominance. His counter attacking tactics are still working just great against Pep. At times a bit modified but that’s how even Barcelona beat Peps Bayern in semi final of CL. Recipe Was found and before that managers were breaking their heads how to beat him.

To conclude, Real has two options : bring Mourinho and rebuild that counter attacking fast team again but willing to spend money. Get rid of dead wood in the team. REAL NEEDS A GOOD STIKER THAT CAN BRING AT LEAST 30 goals a season or other players must score - that is what Jose said and I agree 100%. Real relied on Ronaldo so much for those goals and now it is evident! Remember distribution is still there but no one is converting as much as Ronaldo used to do.

Or bring other world class manager and again try to find new style for Real if counter attacking isn’t what you like but Real played possession football against Barcelona and still conceded 5! It is clear that players don’t know what style to play and execute effectively. I am sure solution is much more complicated than I explained but the problem is just too evident.

P.s. Ramos also too me is great fighter on the field but boy is he stupid captain. You need a smart man to lead the team. He is getting old and new captain needs to emerge so things like against Ajax won’t happen again.

@tiki

And who did Barca played that they never met Real?

Im kinda surprised by 3rd goal decision. I took them like 5mins and in my opinion they've got it wrong.

Great game by Ajax tho, you can see how important Ramos is for Real.

I feel like Real is incredibly unlucky in last few games. They are creating chances, but they are missing Ronaldo - someone who will finish 9 out of 10.

Solari will be porbably sacked, but I think he did very good job. Nobody expected Real to win anything this year. What Solari did by given chance to young players is crucial in process of rebuilding Real. Vinicius, Reguilon, Valverde, Llorente.

It's the same process that Louis van Gaal did in United, bringing young players like Rashford, Shaw, Martial. They are core of team now.

@serans the third goal is very difficult. One angle looked like the ball was out and in another angle it seemed a bit of the ball was still in. So if the replay is inconclusive they have to revert to the original decision which was a goal. There should be way more angles though.

@Marcus said everything I wanted to say on this topic, except Mourinho part :D :(

• Previous success on the best mid, and Ronaldo
• Their finishes recently suck big time
• Navas vs. Courtois
• Ramos being a total dumba$$ sometimes, but a crucial piece in their previous success.

Real got caught with their pants down. Their team Capt choose to get a second yellow which tells me that they thought they could handle the next game without much issue. It was planned and not just by Ramos.

A few of us said that if Real was not careful, Ajax will take this round, well look at what we have.

Real have not been themselves really all season and for good reason. You lost a manager, you lost your greatest player, and some other players are not completely bought in where they are. Hard to be at the top when all that happens.

I love that Ajax is playing big time ball again. They have been missed in Europe and I hope they are not picked apart like they usually are, so they can create another power for the other big boys to worry about again.

TBH I'm not even that upset. Ajax outplayed us, and I'm sure it was a great game to watch as a neutral. It sucks, but I've been of the opinion that we need a complete squad overhaul. Many of these players just don't feel like they have anything to prove anymore.

Courtois - IDK why the fuck we bought him. Navas is so much better. Also Courtois sucks at 1v1 situations. Always gets fucking megged or closes his eyes at the last minute and the forward sneaks in a goal

Navas - Feel so bad for the guy. Should 100% be starting. Getting treated like shit cuz Perez doesn't wanna look like an idiot by getting Courtois and having him rot on the bench

Carvajal - Has been consistent throughout most of the season. Probably should be our next leader after Ramos, but needs to build up appearances first

Ramos - Has been stellar this entire season, our only world-class performer this year. I think he had every right to expect his team to be mature enough to beat Ajax at home, but I think he underestimated his own importance to the back-line and failed to realize that Varane cannot organize a high-line for shit.

Varane - Has been strange this entire season. On and off. I also hate how bad he can be at high-lines sometimes. He does so much better when defending deep, but in a high-line he's so susceptive to mistakes and poor positioning. I hope Varane doesn't leave the club, but he really needs to mature his personality and become more assertive.

Marcelo - Lol. Has been disengaged the entire season. Just feels like he doesn't care about the club anymore. What a sad way to go out of the club. Worked all these years to be a club legend, and basically throws away his passion in one year. At the very least I hope he goes out with proper applause.

Reguilon - Fucking love this kid. Has been amazing all year. Needs more experience, but he's a solid LB. Should be in our squad for years to come.

Nacho - Good rotation player, but needs an organizer like Ramos to play well.

Casemiro - Has been strangely poor entire season. I really wish he gets his shit together, but he really needs Kroos and Modric to play well so that his job becomes much easier.

Kroos - Has been shit at tracking back this entire season. First goal was his fault too. I don't know what the hell is wrong with him, but this past year he seems to have just gotten so arrogant that he acts like he has nothing left to prove anymore.

Modric - Been pretty shit this entire year. Had glimpses of magic, but mostly trash. He's just getting older and doesn't have the forward line to create chances anymore.

Isco - IDK why Solari hates the guy. We could really have used his creativity. Fuckin shame

Valverde - Promising guy, we definitely need to keep him

Ceballos - Hasn't impressed when given the opportunity

Llorente - Been solid when given the chance, definitely our DM of the future

Asensio - Been poor whenever he's been given a chance. Very disappointing

Vinicius - Should be our pillar for the next decade. Needs to work on his god-awful finishing though

Benzema - Been good enough for the season, but he's just too old and too slow to play as our main striker anymore. Also isn't good enough at finishing to bang in 30-35 goals a season. IDK if we should keep him or not, but at the very least he needs to be paired up with a speedy, intelligent striker who's a quality finisher

Bale - already ranted about him in another thread. Been fucking awful for us the entire year, doesn't look like he cares about the club at all, and is just throwing tantrums and being unprofessional AF wherever he goes. Unbelievable. I can't believe Bale's behavior these past few seasons.