Shearer destroys ‘stupid’ Real Madrid star with costly ‘head loss’ moment in Arsenal drubbing

Alan Shearer has described Eduardo Camavinga’s sending off as “stupid” following Real Madrid’s 3-0 loss to Arsenal in the Champions League – while Carlo Ancelotti made a big admission about the Gunners’ “qualities” and superior “fitness levels”.

Madrid have a mountain to climb heading into the second leg of this quarter-final tie thanks to two stunning free-kicks from Declan Rice and a crisp strike from Mikel Merino.

To make matters worse, Los Blancos star Camavinga picked up a second booking in second-half stoppage time for kicking the ball away when Arsenal tried to restart play.

This attracted the ire of former England striker Shearer, who laid into the 22-year-old for his petulant actions at the Emirates on Tuesday night.

He said on Amazon Prime: “How stupid is that. How ridiculous. I understand the frustration, and I understand they’ve taken a beating tonight but that just sums up Real Madrid, it really does.”

Shearer was not the only pundit to lay into the Frenchman, with former England defender Matt Upson describing the incident as a “head loss” moment.

He said on BBC Radio 5 Live: “Talk about a loss of discipline. Right here is a prime example. Carlo Ancelotti looks the other way as Eduardo Camavinga walks down the tunnel. It is a head loss moment and the referee has no option but to send him off.”

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Ancelotti taken aback by manner of Real Madrid loss

Madrid boss Ancelotti admitted his team were “very poor” in the final half hour of the Arsenal clash, with the Gunners scoring three goals in 17 second-half minutes.

The Italian said Los Blancos “dropped off both mentally and physically”, while praising Mikel Arteta’s side’s energy and quality in front of goal. Indeed, Arsenal had 12 shots to Madrid’s nine, 11 of which were on target, and had 54 per cent possession as well.

He said after the game: “We weren’t expecting this. The team looked pretty good and well-organised in the first half. Following the two set-piece goals, the team dropped off both mentally and physically.

“It was a difficult end to the game because we didn’t see the reaction we’re used to seeing from this team. The final 30 minutes were very poor. There are two assessments here: one that I was satisfied up to 0-0, and the other following the reaction to their goals, which was really poor.”

“They [Arsenal] showed a better attitude, more quality and impressive fitness levels today. They did a lot of things better than us and we have to be honest with ourselves. We weren’t too bad for an hour, we played pretty well in the first half.

“It’s hard to explain. There was no collective reaction, we were trying to do things individually. They controlled the ball better and managed the result.”

Real Madrid roundup: €50m star targeted, Liverpool linked with Rodrygo

Madrid are reportedly in a hotly contested race for Bayer Leverkusen star Piero Hincapie, but face competition from Manchester United and Liverpool.

The centre-back, who has played 157 times for the German giants, is said to be valued at €50 million (£42.5m, $55m) by the Bundesliga team. 

Reports in Spain suggest Liverpool have launched an eye-watering offer to sign Madrid winger Rodrygo if they can’t extend Mohamed Salah’s contract.

The Egyptian is inching closer to becoming a free agent and that is leading the Reds to assess their options when it comes to a successor.

Finally, Madrid, Manchester City, and more, are keeping tabs on AC Milan midfielder Tijjani Reijnders amid an impressive season for the Serie A outfit.

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