Six Real Madrid figures singled out after Stamford Bridge failure
Real Madrid head coach Zinedine Zidane and a series of first team players have come under fire after the Spanish side were outclassed by Chelsea.
The manner in which Real Madrid limped out of this year's Champions League following a lacklustre performance at Stamford Bridge has annoyed many Real Madrid fans with six individuals coming under criticism.
Zinedine Zidane
The French coach has come under fire for employing a (1-3-5-2) formation with it soon becoming clear that it was ineffective at Stamford Bridge. His insistence at playing the likes of Hazard and Sergio Ramos with both players far from full match fitness along with positioning Vinicius as a wing back have all been cited as key errors from the manager.
Eden Hazard
The Belgian winger is far from his best and has been underwhelming in his two years at the Santiago Bernabéu with his time at the club plagued by injury. Back at the home of his former club, the player was presented with the ideal stage to redeem himself but instead delivered a below par display. His laughs and jokes shortly after the final whistle with former Chelsea team-mates have also been picked up by local Spanish media and fans alike with calls for the player never to pull on the white shirt again growing.
Sergio Ramos
With just two full games under his belt in 2021 (Osasuna in the league and Athletic in the Spanish Super Cup), Zidane opted to start Sergio Ramos and it was clear from the off that the defender was well off the pace of the match. The defender and club captain has yet to renew his contract at Madrid with many feeling that this could have been the last time we see Ramos in a Real Madrid shirt in a Champions League game.
Ferland Mendy
The French player was placed alongside Sergio Ramos at the heart of the Real Madrid defence and look far from comfortable in the role from kick-off. The 25-year-old rarely got into the game and his distribution and decision making was poor and more was expected from the habitual left-back in this role.
Marco Asensio
Another chance for the Mallorca born player to propel himself back into favour and another chance spurned as a the player replaced Vinicius shortly after the hour mark. A few mis-placed crossed and a failure to create any semblance of danger for the English side was the output from the Spain international.
Vinicius
The Brazilian clearly struggled being played in an unfamiliar role and has yet to find the form from the first leg of the competition when Madrid cruised past Liverpool in the previous round. The young player has now stared in the past seven games for Zidane and has failed to score in these appearances.