Apocalypse: How Spanish newspapers reacted to Real Madrid’s Champions League loss to Ajax

Real Madrid crashed out of the Champions League on Wednesday after a humiliating 1-4 loss at home to Ajax in the Round of 16.

The defending champions entered the second leg with a 2-1 advantage but Hakim Ziyech and David Neres scored in the first half for Ajax to put the tie firmly in the Dutch side’s corner.

In the second half, Dusan Tadic made it 3-0, before Marco Asensio pulled one back for Real to calm a tense audience at the Santiago Bernabeu. But any hopes of a sensational comeback by the hosts were put to bed when Lasse Schone found the back of the net in the 72nd minute to seal the deal for Ajax.

This is the first time since 2010 that Real have failed to reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League, a tournament they won four times in the last five seasons. To make matters worse, Gareth Bale started on the bench while Sergio Ramos watched from the stands, after a deliberate booking to free himself to play more knock-out matches this season.

Expectedly, Spanish newspapers tore into Real’s hapless performance. In the past seven days, the club has been knocked out of the Champions League, fallen 12 points behind arch rivals and leaders Barcelona in the La Liga table, and crashed out of the Copa del Rey.

Here are some reactions from the Spanish media after Real’s stunning loss on Wednesday:

Newspaper Mundo Deportivo had a full-page coverage of the match, highlighting the epic proportion of Real’s loss. Their headline translated to: “Nothing at all”

Since Madrid are out of contention for the Champions League, La Liga and the Copa del Rey, newspaper El Pais went with this headline on their front page: “Madrid has lost it all”

The famous white jersey of Real Madrid, which would once strike fear in the hearts of the opponents. But the Los Bloncos are not as fearsome anymore. This prompted Spanish newspaper El Periodico to write this as their headline: “White apocalypse”

Newspaper La Vanguardia covered the match with a big header on their front page. The headline translated to: “Institutional crisis for Madrid in a trophy-less season.”

Even Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport gave massive coverage to the match with this dramatic headline: “The fall of the Gods”