
REAL MADRID
Historic KO: Real Madrid falls in Champions League quarter-finals more than 20 years later
Published:18/04/2025 - 00:31h
Updated:18/04/2025 - 00:31h
The white team had not fallen in the quarter-final round of the Champions League since the 2003/04 season, when they were eliminated by Monaco.
Real Madrid was eliminated in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 by Arsenal, in a series in which the English team won convincingly with an aggregate score of 5-1. After losing 3-0 in the first leg in London, the team led by Carlo Ancelotti failed to come back at the Santiago Bernabéu, falling 1-2.
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First leg (London): Arsenal 3-0 Real Madrid.
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Second leg (Madrid): Real Madrid 1-2 Arsenal.
In the second leg, Bukayo Saka put Arsenal ahead in the 65th minute, Vinícius Júnior quickly equalized for Madrid, but Gabriel Martinelli sealed the tie in added time, leaving the Whites with no options and confirming a historic KO.
Keys to the elimination
Real Madrid never gave a real sense of danger nor managed to impose their football against a well-organized and effective Arsenal on the counterattack. Ancelotti's team suffered one of their worst recent campaigns in the Champions, accumulating six defeats in the competition, a negative record for the club. The Madrid fans, accustomed to European comebacks, watched as the team was eliminated.
Eliminated in Champions League quarter-finals for the first time since 2002/04
The elimination of Real Madrid in the quarter-finals of the Champions League 2024/25 against Arsenal marks the first time since the 2003/04 season that the club was eliminated in this round of the tournament in a two-legged tie. On that occasion, the white team was eliminated by AS Monaco, who came back in the tie and advanced to the semi-finals thanks to the away goals rule, now abolished.
Since that defeat against Monaco, Real Madrid had reached the quarter-finals on 12 occasions and always managed to advance to the semi-finals, consolidating one of the most impressive streaks in the history of the tournament. The elimination against Arsenal (5-1 on aggregate) puts an end to that streak and represents a historic event for the club, which had not fallen in the quarter-finals for more than two decades.
And before the semi-finals for the first time since 2019/20
The elimination of the Madrid team in the quarter-finals of the 2024/25 Champions League represents their first absence in the semi-finals since the 2019/20 season, thus confirming the end of an era of almost uninterrupted dominance in the top European club competition.
Since the elimination at the hands of Manchester City in the round of 16 in 2020, the club had been a protagonist in the final phase of the competition, achieving two titles (2022 and 2024) and reaching the semi-finals in the other two editions.
Real Madrid thus closes a disappointing European participation this season. The elimination has generated doubts about the continuity of Carlo Ancelotti as coach, as well as possible important changes in the squad.