Real Madrid vs. Ajax score: Champions League champs eliminated at home in embarrassing fashion

Real Madrid, winners of the last three Champions League finals, crashed out of the competition in the round of 16 after losing 4-1 to Ajax at home. Real had won the first leg 2-1 in Amsterdam but found itself down 3-0 in the second half after an embarrassing first half and didn’t have enough to pull off the comeback. Hakim Ziyech (7′), David Neres (18′) and Dusan Tadic (62′) gave the visitors the commanding lead, and then it was Lasse Schone (72′) who scored an outrageous free kick after Marco Asensio had gotten one back for the hosts. Here are three takeaways from one of the biggest upsets you’ll see in Champions League history. 

We should’ve seen this coming

This wasn’t even close from the beginning. Real Madrid, coming off an emotional week where it lost to rival Barcelona twice, saw everything go wrong. Lucas and Vinicius Junior were taken off in the first half due to injury, the team hit the crossbar and post, and Thibaut Courtois couldn’t make a stop to save his life in a shocking display. 

Here’s the opener from Ziyech that came after some fine pressure seven minutes in:

And the 2-0, which included some filth:

Just look at what Tadic did to Casemiro on the play:

But Tadic wasn’t done. In the 62nd minute, he got his goal with this gorgeous strike into the upper corner with some controversy:

The ball appeared to clearly go out on the sideline, but did it? With VAR available in the knockout stage, it was reviewed but it wasn’t overturned. A World Cup referee spoke to CBS Sports about the controversial play:

“It gives you the perspective and the feeling that the ball goes out, but it is not true. If you look at the line and the ball in the air, since we aren’t parallel and we are looking perpendicular, it looks past the line. It gives the impression that the ball is out. But since the ball isn’t touching the ground, for me, the ball is in, it’s not out. It’s clearly in. It’s a visual illusion. I think with a 3D technology that could show us clearly a 360-degree view, the ball would clearly be in.”

And the fact that it wasn’t overturned gave Ajax that third goal that proved to be enough to move on. 

And then, following Asensio’s goal, the dagger:

Solari is probably out of a job now

It’s hard to imagine a scenario where Real Madrid won’t be looking for a new coach after this result. There isn’t a club with a shorter leash than Real Madrid, and after a week in which the team lost to Barcelona twice, got eliminated from the Copa del Rey and the Champions League and conceded eight goals and scored just one, he’s time is likely over. And it’s unfortunate for the Argentine, coming into the team after the disaster with Julen Lopetegui. Without Cristiano Ronaldo, the numbers have been wild as we noted in our power rankings. But it always felt like a lose-lose situation because this team didn’t properly invest in the final third to replace Ronaldo. And so, things continue as is with the roster as they will look to surely spend big this summer.

As for who could be the next coach if Solari is out …

There will be a new UCL champ

Look, it’s not all that shocking that Real Madrid lost. They’ve been so inconsistent all season long. At times it appears as if they’ve turned the corner, and other times they get put on their behinds. With Sergio Ramos missing this match after intentionally getting a yellow card in the first leg, Real, you could say, got what it deserved. All season long it had been playing with fire, failing to convert, and now it was the defense’s turn to get lit up. And as a result, we will have a new Champions League winner. 

Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain lead the way when it comes to the favorites. You can see all of the Champions League action on fuboTV (Try for free).