Three talking points as Real Madrid face Arsenal in the UCL | OneFootball

Real Madrid have a crucial night awaiting them as they face Arsenal in the second leg of the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals.

The Merengues were defeated 3-0 in the first leg and now face an impossible task of overcoming this mountain of a deficit, especially against one of the best defensive sides in Europe.

However, being Real Madrid, nobody should count them out of the tie just yet, as, only in recent years, they have shown time and again their ability to come out of similar impossible situations.

But ahead of this game, there will be three important points in the minds of the Merengue fans and other football enthusiasts in general:

Can Kylian Mbappe make the difference for his side?

After years of efforts, Real Madrid and Florentino Perez were finally able to land the French superstar Kylian Mbappe to their team. With his acquisition, the Merengues were clearly the team to beat, as they had only recently won the UCL and La Liga double, and added one of the best players in the world to their attack.

However, this season has not gone exactly according to these early optimistic expectations. The Frenchman has shone in patches and despite his poor runs of form, is the team’s top scorer in the league and the joint-top scorer in the UCL with Vinicius.

But his performance in the first leg against Arsenal was far from ideal, and it remains to be seen whether he can make the difference for his side tonight as they face impossible odds.

Can Vinicius Junior overturn his poor form?

Vinicius Junior had been among the most important players for the White team in their last two UCL wins. However, this season, he has been very inconsistent with his performances, and his missed penalty in the Round of 16 second leg against Atletico Madrid could have resulted in his team’s early elimination from the competition, and he was again quite poor in the first leg against the Gunners.

There is no doubt that Carlo Ancelotti needs his Brazilian wizard at his best level if his team is to overcome the 3-goal deficit from the first leg. While his recent form has been poor, he still remains one of the most unpredictable players in Europe, and Real Madrid fans will definitely be hoping to see him put in a memorable shift tonight.

Will there be another magical night at the Santiago Bernabeu?

Over its 78 years of history, Santiago Bernabeu has frequently seen its resident team overcoming the greatest of odds to remind everyone why they are the best club in the world.

Only in the last few years, the Merengues have performed even beyond the wildest dreams of the Bernabeu faithful, especially in the Champions League, to come back from almost impossible positions.

In their run to the 2021-22 final, the Whites worked incredible comebacks against Paris Saint Germain, Chelsea, and Manchester City in the knock-out rounds to ultimately win the title.

In the last edition of the competition, they once again showed this characteristic attitude as they beat Bayern Munich 2-1, with Joselu’s brace coming in the very final minutes of the game at the Bernabeu.

Tonight, Real Madrid once again face a similar situation, and the fans will definitely be hoping to see another miracle at the Santiago Bernabeu. But it remains to be seen whether such a miracle will come or Arsenal will be able to hold on to their advantage to make it to the semis at the Merengues’ expense.