Real Madrid’s trophyless nightmare: Who must pay the price at Los Blancos?

2-1 down in the first leg, Real Madrid went up 3-2 by the 42nd minute in the second leg of the Champions League quarter-finals against Bayern Munich on Wednesday. With overall aggregate at 4-4, Real looked set to force a penalty shootout at Allianz Arena, but calamity struck in the final minutes as Luis Diaz and Michael Olise scored two late goals to fire Munich into the semi-finals.

Bayern's Diaz scored in the 89th minute and Olise in stoppage time to keep hopes of a possible treble alive and set up a semi-final against defending champions Paris St Germain.

Late heartbreak for Real Madrid

For Real Madrid, the things unravelled when substitute Eduardo Camavinga was sent off in the 86th minute after two bookings in eight minutes and the double scorer Arda Guler was dismissed for dissent at the end of the game.

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"It was a great night for the club," Bayern Munich coach Vincent Kompany said. "What remains for me is the total togetherness that we showed. That's what we take from the game. We showed absolute belief and will to fight our way back into the game."

Earlier, 21-year-old Guler scored the first goal inside first minute after goalkeeper Manuel Neuer committed a massive blunder. Bayern hit back five minutes later as Aleksandar Pavlovic buried a header.

Guler pulled things back with a free-kick, and while Harry Kane scored another equaliser, it was Real who were 3-2 up at the half-time break. The third goal for Madrid came from Kylian Mbappe, who converted a Vinicius Junior assist to score his 15th Champions League goal of the season.

But red cards and Bayern's resistance proved too much for Real, who are now in serious danger of missing out on a trophy in the 2025-26 season. They trail Barcelona by nine points in La Liga, and if they fail to overcome that, then Real will finish trophyless only for the fifth time this century.

The previous four occasions were in 2004-05, 2005-06, 2009-10, and 2020-21.

It has been a difficult season for Real Madrid, which had to part ways with former player Xabi Alonso as coach after welcoming him back with much fanfare.

Arbeloa: 'I am the one responsible for the defeats'

Alonso resigned after losing to Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup in January, being replaced by former teammate Alvaro Arbeloa.

Alvaro Arbeloa did not shy away from taking the responsibility for elimination from the Champions League.

"I am the one responsible for the defeats and I will always take the consequences from that," Arbeloa said. "I am so proud of the players. This is Real Madrid. La Liga is very tough. We have to keep fighting until the last match day. We have a badge to defend.

"We feel really upset, really angry, really disappointed. This felt like a defining game in our season."

Manuel Pellegrini and Zinedine Zidane had quit after trophyless campaigns at Real Madrid, and Arbeloa is also expected to do the same or get sacked.

"I will understand any decision the club makes. I'm a Real Madrid man through and through. I care about this club, the players and the supporters a lot more than I care about myself," said Arbeloa.

"My goal when I became this team's coach was never to prove that I'm a good coach, it was always to just help the players and be at their side and help the club and I'll do that until my last day in charge.

"I feel like I did everything I could to help this team win. I do everything I can everyday.

"I will respect the club's decision. But I'm not thinking about that. It's a decision of the club. I'm a man of the club and all I want is for Madrid to win, regardless of who their coach is."

Real's campaign has been severely impacted by injuries to key players, poor form of star players like Mbappe, Vinicus and Jude Bellingham, and sacking Arbeloa won't be the best solution. But at Real, the action always starts from the top. And it would be a surprise if Arbeloa stays in his job for a few more weeks from here.