Cristiano Will Always Be CR7: Adios, Muchachos...Un Fracaso Otra Vez

The above photo should tell the entire story. RM's PR prior to this match was an all out aerial assault to intimidate the visiting Lyonnaise. With Ronny's declaration that "in the Bernabeu we rule," and the well-timed presentation of the first Champions League Final ticket in Madrid a few days before the match...quintessential RM smokescreen...but it didn't work.

Going in to this match, the Merengues weren't "ruling" anything, as their antiquated "royal" title would suggest. Behind on goals 0-1, when Lyon scrapped a goal at home in the first tie, los Blancos were already on the edge of infamy. So the PR onslaught was pure theatrics without substance. If you're going to intimidate another side, you have to play to back up the talk.
Tonight, they were silent.

They started out well enough with Ronny scoring in the 6th minute. The "fans" thought they might provide a comeback like they did against Sevilla last weekend. Unfortunately for Madrid, Ronny's goal was the only ball to find the net. With countless close calls and wasted chances, CR became increasingly frustrated, as judged by the photo above. Higuain shot at an open net and hit it off the post, and Lyon keeper Lloris saved a few sure bets from Madrid.

A slicked-back Ronny slides a greaser through the keeper's legs

You SHOULD be embarrassed...Higuain missing a wide-open net

That was the first half. The second half was a different story. In the 75th minute, Serbian striker Pjancic slid a sneaker through the swiss cheese RM defense (four on him) and...game over. This drew the score and put Lyon up by one on aggregate. That's where it stayed.

Pjancic guts the useless RM defense (you can only see two here)

In this type of competition, every game must be played as if it's the last. Whoever wants it most will come out on top. In this case, Lyon put Madrid's tenth CL title hopes and hosting the Final to the sword.

Now the sharks are circling. As if RM manager Pellegrini didn't already feel the burn on his toes, the fans who left early from the match (typical RM "fans") have already put in their say.

Double-parked were ya? Fair weather fanaticos

The headline for marca.com was "Adios, Champions...Adios, Pellegrini" and AS.com's headline was more to the point: "Fracaso de Champions." Jorge Valdano, the devil's advocate, stated that Pellegrini's job is not in jeopardy, but Pellegrini himself answered the job questions with a resolute, "that's up to the directors...I will keep on training until they tell me not to."
One interesting moment from this "fracaso" occured when Kaka was substituted from the match with Raul taking his place. As Kaka exited, he flailed his arms in anger. Most in attendance felt he was voicing his opinion on being subbed. But Kaka was quick to point out in the post-match interviews that he was merely frustrated by Real's play. Until.....we were reminded that we live in the age of technology and up-to-the-minute information. Kaka's financial advisor tweeted to Caroline Celico's (Kaka's wife) twitter that "the cowardly manager takes out players to divert attention from his own incompetence."

Kaka reverting back to his Milan days with a scene from la Traviata

So why DID they lose?
RM's resident prickly, Guti, summed up the loss stoically:
"It's a real shame," he told Telemadrid. "We showed once again that, in the big games, we are unable to go for the kill.

"We should have played more like a team instead of playing like a group of individuals. In the second half, we didn't play as we should.
"They started to attack when they saw that we weren't pressing like we had before half-time. That was the time to be a team. Now, we can only think about La Liga, which is all we have left."

Why do I think they lost? Flagrant inconsistency, hubris, and too much reliance on history. When most of the CL trophies you cart out for the public to see in a not-so-veiled attempt to intimidate are from the 1950s....uhhh...I think you need a new plan.