Category News

Kylian Mbappe’s arrival at Real Madrid was envisioned to expand their Champions League domination, but he was muzzled by Arsenal as Los Blancos crashed out in the quarter-finals, leaving coach Carlo Ancelotti on the brink.

The holders find themselves picking up the pieces after Arsenal surgically dispatched them with a 5-1 aggregate triumph on Wednesday, and now it is Ancelotti who needs a miracle comeback to survive in his post.

The Gunners reached the final four with a 2-1 away win and will face Mbappe’s former side, Paris Saint-Germain, soaring without the French superstar, who left in search of European silverware with the record 15-time winners.

Mbappe limped off with an ankle injury in the final stages against Arsenal, leaving Madrid’s ‘remontada’ ambitions in tatters and his coach under the microscope.

The Italian’s team is deeply flawed this season, a far more fragile outfit than the side which powered to a Champions League and La Liga double last season.

To put the defeat into context, this will be the just the third time in 12 seasons that Madrid have failed to reach the Champions League semi-finals.

Mbappe’s arrival, despite his strong form in 2025 and 33 goals across all competitions, is one of the main factors in Madrid’s downturn, with Ancelotti unable to accommodate him and Vinicius Junior together without destabilising the team.

It is clear Ancelotti has not found the right strategy to use them, Jude Bellingham and Rodrygo Goes together in the biggest matches.

“We have to make more collective moves rather than individual ones,” noted goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois after the elimination, with Madrid reliant on star power rather than consistently outplaying opponents.

Ancelotti has deployed Mbappe in a centre-forward role but he drifts frequently, and in the past has preferred to play off the left flank — Vinicius’ preferred spot.

Last season Bellingham and Joselu Mato both operated through the middle at times, and although the former is naturally a midfielder, the Englishman’s physicality and presence was a huge boon for Madrid.

Against Arsenal and in the absence of any better ideas to break down Mikel Arteta’s rock-solid defence, Madrid slung balls into the box in search of a target man like Joselu, who left last summer for a Qatar.

“We put in a lot of crosses but this year we don’t have a Joselu, a born centre-forward up there,” observed Courtois.

READ ALSO: Arsenal Knock Out Holders Real Madrid To Reach Champions League Semis

‘No problem’

Ancelotti has been frustrated with his side on a regular basis this season, for their lack of “collective commitment” to defending.

The 65-year-old threatened Vinicius with substitution during the Copa del Rey semi-final second leg against Real Sociedad because the Brazilian was not running enough.

“That warning brought out the best in Vinicius — from then on, he increased the pace and quality,” said the Italian.

Ancelotti has been open about his future, knowing for weeks he may not be kept on for the last year of his contract.

For some time speculation has mounted that Madrid will look for a new coach in the summer, with Jurgen Klopp and Xabi Alonso the favourites.

“It could be that the club decide to change (coach), it could be this year — or the next when my contract expires, there’s no problem,” said Ancelotti on Wednesday.

Madrid’s defeat on Wednesday was their 12th of the season compared to just two in the whole of the 2023-24 campaign.

Toni Kroos’ departure last summer is another factor, with Madrid’s midfield not convincing this year.

The Arsenal post-mortem and any subsequent finding that can be utilised are even more crucial given Madrid still have trophies on the line.

They are four points behind Barcelona in La Liga, firmly in the title race with a Clasico to come in May which could decide the title.

Barcelona have won the previous two derbies, scoring nine goals in total to Madrid’s two.

Madrid also face their arch-rivals in the Copa del Rey final on April 26, and will participate in the Club World Cup this summer, although Ancelotti may not be in charge by that point.

If Mbappe is to end the season with a major trophy and Ancelotti is to go out with the bang his Madrid legacy merits, there is no time to lick their wounds.

Football fans in China were outraged by Zhejiang FC’s decision to go ahead with a league match hours after the death of their Gabon international striker Aaron Boupendza.

Police have ruled out foul play in the death of the 28-year-old, who died after falling from the 11th floor of a building in the eastern city of Hangzhou on Wednesday afternoon.

Boupendza’s Hangzhou-based club went ahead with a home Chinese Super League fixture later on Wednesday against Meizhou Hakka, sparking grief and anger from fans.

“Shouldn’t this match have been postponed?” one user wrote on the X-like social media platform Weibo.

“Why didn’t they postpone the match? The Chinese Super League is really very amateur,” another posted on WeChat.

The match, which ended 2-2, was played in a sombre atmosphere with none of the club’s other foreign players taking the field.

Fans chanted Boupendza’s name, held up his shirt and lit up phone torches, and after the final whistle Zhejiang’s players and staff approached fans in an act of collective mourning.

READ ALSO: Arsenal Knock Out Holders Real Madrid To Reach Champions League Semis

Zhejiang’s emotional captain Cheng Jin struggled to answer questions before cutting short his post-match TV interview.

“I’m sorry, it’s not that I don’t respect you. I don’t have anything I really want to say,” he said.

Zhejiang’s Spanish head coach Raul Caneda Perez said that there was “nothing to say about the game” at his post-match press conference

“Today is not for talking about football,” he said, through an interpreter.

“Football should not be discussed in this context.”

Hangzhou police confirmed Boupendza’s death and said they had been called to an incident at 1:14 pm on Wednesday.

Police said they “ruled out a criminal case” after investigations which included conducting interviews and reviewing video footage.

Boupendza was taken to hospital, but efforts to revive him failed, the police added.

Zhejiang FC released a statement on Boupendza’s death after the match and said they were “fully cooperating with the relevant authorities to carry out the investigation”.

“All the club’s staff send their deepest condolences to his family,” the club said.

The Chinese Football Association (CFA) said in a statement on Thursday that it was “deeply saddened by (Boupendza’s) unfortunate passing” and sent “sincere condolences to his family and friends”.

“Foreign footballers are an important part of the development of Chinese professional football. We will give further care to the physical and mental health of all football players,” the CFA said.

Gabon’s national football association, who announced Wednesday that Boupendza had died in a statement on X, said: “Aged 28, Boupendza leaves us with the memory of a great striker.”

Gabonese president-elect Brice Oligui Nguema also took to X to add his condolences.

“It is with immense sadness that I learn of the tragic death of Aaron Boupendza, a talented centre-forward who brought honour to Gabonese football,” he posted.

When the football world casts its eyes at Munich’s Allianz Arena in May for the Champions League final, home side Bayern Munich will be mere spectators.

The German giants were felled by Inter Milan at the quarter-final stage 4-3 on aggregate after Wednesday’s 2-2 draw at the San Siro.

While Bayern more than matched the Italian champions despite a crippling injury crisis, the manner of the elimination will be most concerning for the German giants.

Bayern were unable to make their dominance of possession and chances count against Inter.

The six-time Champions League winners consider the European stage to be their own but were let down by poor game management in crucial moments across both legs.

In Munich, Bayern were still captivated by the serendipity of Thomas Mueller’s late equaliser when Davide Frattesi scored the winner for Inter on the break three minutes later.

In Milan, Harry Kane had levelled the tie but Bayern conceded two goals in three minutes, giving the hosts an aggregate lead they would never relinquish.

In the short term, Bayern will lament their bad luck with injuries and missing chances in front of goal.

But bigger questions are on the horizon, most notably why the club continues to fall short of their own expectations in Europe.

Elimination against Inter was Bayern’s fourth quarter-final exit in the past five seasons — a poor return for a club with a budget to rival Europe’s best.

Being mere spectators for the showpiece on their own turf will sting.

Known as the ‘Finale dahoam’ in the local Bavarian dialect, May 31 2025 was not just circled on the calendar: it had dictated Bayern’s strategy for years.

The Allianz Arena was originally selected as the host ground for the 2023 Champions League final in 2019, but this was pushed back two years following Covid-19.

In it, Bayern saw the perfect chance to avenge their 2012 Champions League final defeat to Chelsea at the same venue.

The surprise firing of Julian Nagelsmann for European specialist Thomas Tuchel in March 2023 was justified against the backdrop of winning in 2025.

The decision to smash their own transfer record to spend 100 million euros ($113 million) on Kane, then aged 30, was approved by the traditionally frugal Bayern transfer board in August 2023 for the same reason.

In recent weeks, the club’s decision not to extend with two-time Champions League winner Thomas Mueller, while controversial, had given Bayern an extra push to provide a home send-off for the club legend.

READ ALSO: Arsenal Knock Out Holders Real Madrid To Reach Champions League Semis

 ‘Hard Reality’

With the dream dead, the disappointment was evident at all levels of the club on Wednesday.

Coach Vincent Kompany said the tie could not be properly evaluated without considering Bayern’s injuries.

Creative spark Jamal Musiala, captain Manuel Neuer, wing-back Alphonso Davies and centre-backs Dayot Upamecano and Hiroki Ito were all missing, while defender Kim Min-jae played through Achilles tendonitis.

Kompany, however, admitted: “The hard reality is that we are not going to play the Champions League final at home.

“That’s the hard reality. We cannot change this, we can’t say more than that.”

Speaking at a post-match banquet in Milan on Wednesday, a Bayern tradition for all away games in Europe, CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen said: “We’re all sad we won’t be playing in the final at home.

“We had many goals for the season, but that was the biggest.”

Joshua Kimmich, the current Germany captain who will take over as Bayern skipper when Neuer eventually leaves the club, said “the final at home would have meant a lot… it would have been something very big”.

“This dream has been shattered. It’s very bitter. We’ll feel it when the final is played in our stadium and we’re not there,” the 30-year-old added.

Bayern responded to the 2012 loss to Chelsea by winning in 2013 and 2020, those victories bookmarking a run of four semi-final appearances in six seasons.

After 2025’s disappointment, Kimmich was unequivocal.

“We need to improve significantly in big games, both going forward and defensively,” he said.

While Bayern are on track to claim their 12th Bundesliga title in 13 seasons this year, it is what they will do next in Europe that matters most.