Real Madrid face an impossible task of overturning a three-goal deficit in their Champions League quarter-final against Arsenal. That’s according to former Real Madrid striker Fernando Morientes, who won three Champions League titles with the Spanish giants.
Morientes’ thoughts come courtesy of bet365’s Sport and Betting News UEFA Champions League Coverage, as part of a wide-ranging interview which also discussed how Real can fit all their stars into the same line-up, as well as the possible managerial merry-go-round which could develop if Carlo Ancelotti was to leave the Bernabeu.
Speaking about the possibility of an all-Spanish Champions League final involving Barcelona and Real Madrid, Morientes said, “I’m going to tell you it’s impossible. Let’s see if I can jinx it and Real Madrid can turn it around and we can see a Champions League final.”
When pushed to rate exactly how much hope Real Madrid should carry into the second leg of their quarter-final, Morientes did give his former team a glimmer of hope though, stating, “I’d give Real Madrid a 10% chance of getting past Arsenal. If not, I’d say 99-1. 99 for Arsenal, 1% for Real Madrid. Football can surprise you, but the reality is that it’s very difficult. I don’t know how many times a quarter-final tie has been overturned when the visiting team was losing 3-0. I imagine very few times. The statistic is probably less than 10%.”
Morientes explains why Vini and Mbappe can play together
While Real’s chances are undoubtedly very slim, Morientes still feels that they can get the best out of both Vini Jr and Kylian Mbappe.
“Yes, they can play together, they’ve already proven it. Kylian Mbappe has almost 30 goals and he’s not a centre forward; imagine if he were. Vini may not be at his best right now, but he’s also proven what a great player he is. It’s a question of understanding. You’re alongside great players, and you are one too. It’s a question of understanding, it’s a question of egos, it’s a question of many things on the pitch.”
“Real Madrid will always have great attackers, Barca always have great attackers. So, it’s that relationship that is managed on the pitch, which sometimes is better, other times it’s worse. Sometimes there’s more ego on the part of some, other times there’s less, sometimes they mesh perfectly and each one assumes their role.
“There’s Jude Bellingham there, there’s Rodrygo. When he’s not there, someone else comes in who’s also at that level. If everyone assumes their role, and for now Mbappe has assumed the role of scoring forward, it’s going well, but the egos at Real Madrid, you want to be better than the person next to you. That’s difficult to manage.”
Morientes says “Fabregas to Arsenal would make sense”
The conversation then turned to tonight’s opponents, Arsenal, and specifically the prospect of Mikel Arteta replacing Pep Guardiola and Cesc Fabregas replacing Arteta.
“It’s a good question. I think it all depends on the first move. When the first move is made, if Pep Guardiola were to leave City, hypothetically, or if Arteta were to leave Arsenal, the clubs would be taking the next steps yesterday, Fabregas to Arsenal would make sense. Arteta knows about Manchester City; he’s already been with Pep.”
“Well until Ancelotti is sacked or it’s the end of his career, we won’t see the next step. And at big clubs like Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool, the trigger is always the departure of one of the great coaches to somewhere else. That’s when the movements begin for coaches.”
