Real Madrid experienced an embarrassment in the league before the Champions League clash against FC Bayern and received heavy criticism. The Spanish media speaks of “torture” and “surrender”.
The two dress rehearsals for the Champions League quarter-finals on Tuesday between FC Bayern and Real Madrid could hardly have been more different: While the Munich turned the Bundesliga game against SC Freiburg on Holy Saturday into a 3-2 winhis chest broadened and his self-confidence grew, Real Madrid had a real beating – a “guantazo”, as they would say in Spain.
Real embarrassment in Mallorca: Heavy blows before Bayern duel
Three days before the big duel in the premier class, coach Álvaro Arbeola’s team lost 1:2 (0:1) to soccer dwarf and relegation candidate RCD Mallorca. The Madrilenians are in danger of losing touch with FC Barcelona early in the championship race. After coach Hansi Flick’s team won against Atlético Madrid on Saturday, Real are now a full seven points behind.
Real’s defeat was surprising not only because of the opponent: Real had recently won five games across all competitions and had only given the stars a limited amount of rest in the duel against Mallorca: Even though Vinícius Junior and Jude Bellingham initially sat on the bench for an hour, coach Arbeola allowed Antonio Rüdiger, Arda Güler and Kylian Mbappé to start.
Spanish media: From “ordeal” to “unacceptable Indifference”
The “Royals” therefore now have to accept all sorts of accusations from the local press. The Spanish media – especially when it comes to ‘Fútbol’ – tends to be dramatic and exaggerated. When analyzing the La Liga game, the southern European country’s newspapers, online portals and television experts didn’t mince their words.
The online portal “Marca”, for example, writes about an “ordeal” in the Spanish league that Real Madrid experienced in Mallorca. The media outlet “AS” compares the defeat to a “surrender” and diagnoses the club with “unacceptable indifference”. The embarrassment against outsiders Mallorca could “mean the end for Real Madrid,” it goes on to say. “El País” sees Real’s performance as “another giant step towards the abyss”, and the lack of enthusiasm and energy is fatal.
And now, of all times, when the Spanish media sees the Royal team on the ground, the duel against “La Bestia Negra”, against the black beast, as FCB is often called in the Spanish sports press, is coming up.
FC Bayern turns Freiburg game around and gets CL tailwind
While the Royal team hung their heads at the end of the league game and were torn apart by the local press, the Madrilenians’ German opponents can celebrate another three points in the table, the 100th goal of the season in the league and their comeback qualities.
When asked about the significance of the win against Freiburg, Tom Bischof said: “A game like this is perfect in front of Real because we just realize what kind of team we are. We stick together.” Lennart Karl claimed that the working day in Freiburg had created “very, very great confidence”: “In the dressing room we were already talking about the fact that we can beat any opponent. It doesn’t matter, Bundesliga, Champions League. Just give it full throttle and then we can beat any opponent.”
Different Sign before the Champions League hit
Both teams are heading into the Champions League clash with completely different omens: While Bayern travels to Madrid with a tailwind, the “Royals” are under pressure after the bankruptcy and the harsh criticism.
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Source: Today in the stadium April 4, 2026 – 1:00 p.m
