Real Madrid have already endured a horrific season, but after last Tuesday's 4-1 defeat at home to Ajax in the UEFA Champions League, things have gotten much worse.
Ajax managed to come to the Bernabeu and utterly dominate Real Madrid, and as a result, embarrass them in their own home ground. The Real Madrid team seemed lost, without any sort of ideas, and with no real intent to go on and win the tie, whilst Ajax were fired up and were clearly much more disciplined in terms of being defensively sound.
Whilst Real Madrid did muster some chances, Ajax were clearly the better side, and if the Dutch team was more clinical, the game could have finished with even more goals. It was not simply the result that humiliated Real Madrid, but the manner of it. To put this into perspective, Real Madrid have not been eliminated in the UEFA Champions League after they had won the first leg away from home since the 1994-95 season, when they were eliminated by Danish side Odense Boldklub.
This result is remarkable, considering that Real Madrid thought that they had a favourable draw by avoiding the more 'traditional' top sides, yet Ajax's blend of youth and experience managed to overcome them and highlight Real Madrid's crucial weaknesses.
One might say that Sergio Ramos' absence was vital, but as seen throughout this season, Real Madrid have consistently struggled, even with Ramos in the team. The defence was cut apart throughout the match, and it comes as no surprise that Ajax are only the third away side to score four goals at the Bernabeu in the UEFA Champions League, after Bayern Munich and Schalke managed to do it in 2000 and 2015 respectively.
Take nothing away from Ajax, as the Dutch side were utterly brilliant, and will be a threat to any team that will be left in the competition. Ajax managed to combine pace, with quality, through their fantastic blend of youthful players, such as de Ligt, de Jong and Neres, with vastly experienced players, like Schone and Tadic.
Real Madrid now are essentially playing to try and get into the competition again next season, having been eliminated in the Copa del Rey, the UEFA Champions League, and are a mile-off the top of La Liga.
Santiago Solari might be given another chance, but it is clear that he is under immense pressure right now, and him being sacked at the end of the season would come as no surprise to the fans.
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