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Well that didn’t last very long.
Real Madrid were supposed to have turned their season around after winning el Clasico, or at least, that’s what they would have hoped. Hopes, it seems, don’t count for much in the Champions League.
Real Madrid lost to VfB Wolfsburg 2-0, and it was exactly the kind of frustrating loss that Real Madrid needed least. They looked lost on defense, something made all the more apparent by Wolfsburg’s counterattacks.
Again and again Real Madrid passed the ball between themselves, and again and again Wolfsburg (who sit in 8th place in the Bundesliga, 34 points off first) eventually took it back and instantly created the kind of dangerous opportunity that Madrid longed for, but was unable to create.
The feeling of disappointment that Madrid leaves Germany with is in stark contrast to the feel good attitude that permeated the team when they arrived.
After their El Clasico win, forward Gareth Bale posted this picture of the team celebrating in the locker room:
It was a show of solidarity that seemed to be meaningful, that seemed to show that a team known for drama and disappointment was ready to put all of that behind them.
Bale spoke to this when he addressed the media in the run-up to the Wolfsburg game.
"It's been a bit of an annoying season, with little injuries interrupting my form, especially when I was playing well," said the Welsh international. "Regarding the objectives, we're a bit behind in the league, but in the Champions League we know that we are in a good position and we're going to fight as much as we can in each game. Hopefully that will take us to where we want to be."
There seemed to be a belief that Real Madrid was ready to make the most of the rest of the season, that it was ready to show the kind of character that had so often eluded it in the face of bad results.
Now, they just have the reality that one win, no matter how important, doesn’t guarantee a turn around.
Bale's not gonna be smiling now. Photo: @MARCAinENGLISH | Twitter
Hopefully Madrid can take this lesson and apply it to the loss they just suffered: one loss doesn’t doom a team to failure.
How quickly Madrid can recapture a sense of optimism will be critical to the rest of their season. The 2-0 deficit they have going to the second leg of this Champions League round is hardly insurmountable, especially considering it will be played at the Bernabeu. If Madrid can pull off a comeback, they will be three wins away from lifting the Champions League trophy, and that act can turn any season, no matter how bumbling, into a success.
For a team with as much quality as Madrid, the hardest part of doing so may be believing they can do it in the first place.
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