The fallout of Real Madrid’s Champions League exit will begin in earnest after being knocked out at the quarter-final stages on Wednesday night.
Real were beaten 4-3 in their second leg at Bayern Munich, losing the tie 6-4 on aggregate.
It was a much-improved performance from Real, compared to the first leg, who looked set to force extra-time until Luis Diaz and Michael Olise’s stunning strikes in stoppage-time.
However, the Spanish giants now look to go trophyless this season – having been eliminated from the Champions League and Copa del Rey, while trailing eternal rivals Barcelona by nine points with seven matches remaining.
Alvaro Arbeloa came in as Real manager in January but his former Liverpool team-mate Steven Gerrard believes his short tenure will come to an end soon.
‘I feel sorry for Arbeloa and I feel sorry for a lot of the Real Madrid players because to a man tonight they were so much better than last week and they were excellent all over the pitch,’ he said on TNT Sports.
‘He [Arbeloa] will probably lose his job, but I don’t think he deserves that on the evidence of tonight.’
Speaking about his future post-match, Arbeloa chose to remain coy about what could happen.
‘I’m not worried (about my future),’ he said. ‘I will accept whatever the club decides.
‘I’m hurt but not for me, I’m sad for the players, the club, the fans. I think I’ve done everything I could to help the team win games.’
