Arsenal face Real Madrid in Wednesday’s Champions League quarter-final at the Bernabeu with a three-goal first-leg lead and yet the hosts believe in another ‘remontada’; Mikel Arteta’s side must shut out the noise but they have reasons to be confident.
The Real Madrid midfielder had just been asked which term he had heard the most in the dressing room ahead of Wednesday’s second leg against Arsenal. He didn’t need to think twice. The Spanish term, meaning return, is on everybody’s lips in Madrid.
Fans and players in the Spanish capital are in an almost unrealistically positive mood, as demonstrated by listening to a local radio phone-in prior to Bellingham’s press conference on Tuesday. Many predicted a 5-1 home victory, while others were more cautious and believed the hosts might require extra time.
Bellingham’s confidence was evident even if he didn’t get very far. “It’s a night that is made for Real Madrid,” he stated. It’s impossible to enter games like this expecting anything other than a comeback. Pressure is present, but isn’t that the main goal?
He shrugged when he said the final line. After last week’s first leg at the Emirates Stadium, Kylian Mbappe responded, “Of course we can,” when asked if Real Madrid could still advance in the mixed zone.
By the way, the holders were soundly defeated 3-0 in the match. You wouldn’t know it to listen to them now.
Before he helped them overcome a two-goal first-leg deficit to defeat Celtic in the European Cup quarterfinals in 1980, club hero Juanito wrote a successful how-to manual for second-leg European comebacks, which includes their messaging.
It explains the significance of creating belief in the comeback right away, beginning with a discussion about it on the team bus following the first leg, then incorporating it into the actual game, utilizing the energy in the Bernabeu during the warm-up, employing coercive tactics in the tunnel, and making the opponent’s early stages as uncomfortable as possible.
All of that will happen for Arsenal on Wednesday night. Real Madrid, however, keeps using their playbook. The club’s Hollywood-style motivational movies, which include snippets of their most recent comebacks against Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester City, and Bayern Munich, have been lavishly produced.
Watching the videos is undoubtedly emotional. “It’s really motivating stuff,” remarked Bellingham. They also serve as a reminder of the atmosphere that this youthful Arsenal team will encounter in the Bernabeu.
Along with the talent of Mbappe, Vinicius Jr., and the others, Real Madrid has the weight of history on their side. According to Carlo Ancelotti, “We have all the resources we need to turn the tie around.”
But there is a difference between those ties and this one, and that is the extent of Arsenal’s lead. Even Real Madrid, kings of the comeback, with their storied history in Europe, have not overturned a three-goal first-leg deficit in the Champions League era.
Nor are they anything like as strong as they were in winning the competition to complete a treble last season. They only lost once in 54 games in all competitions in that campaign. Last week’s defeat at the Emirates Stadium was their 11th in 53 games in the current one.
Additionally, they are up against a strong opponent in this Arsenal team, whose domestic campaign has been quite different from their European one. The team led by Mikel Arteta easily won the league stage. In 11 games overall, they have only given up six goals. No team has restricted their opponents to fewer shots or fewer goals per game than any other team in the competition.