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After a relative period of stability since Santiago Solari took over the reins at Real Madrid following the disastrous reign of Lopetegui, some storms have returned once more to the Bernabeu.
First, the air of invincibility was lost when the club fell to a shock 3-0 loss to Eibar a fortnight ago to halt Solari's winning streak, then the club suffered further ignominy when they lost 0-3 to CSKA Moscow in the Champions League group stage at the Santiago Bernabeu, of all places.
Los Blancos are three times consecutive defending champions of the UCL and have already booked their spot in the next round of the competition as group winners (all but guaranteeing them a 'favourable' draw), and their superior pedigree, as well as the first leg reversal in Russia coupled with the fact that the match was played at the Bernabeu, meant that it was seen as a match which Real should have won comfortably.
However, in scenes which would have shocked even the staunchest Real hater, the club found themselves 2-0 down heading into the break, as Fyodor Chalov and Georgie Shchennikov put them to the sword to ensure Solari's dressing room talk would have tense.
It got worse in the second 45, as despite Solari's positive substitutions and increased pressure by Real Madrid, Arnor Sigurdsson was on hand to make it 3-0 for the Russians, although it ultimately proved irrelevant as Victoria Plzen did enough to secure Europa League qualification, but it wouldn't matter for fans of the Russian giants as their fans revel in their giant-killing.
The result was shocking, to say the least, and set a couple of records (some of them unwanted). In this piece, we take a look at five records which were set in the Champions League clash at the Santiago Bernabeu.
#5 Heaviest home defeat Real Madrid have suffered in European competition history
Real Madrid is one of the most illustrious clubs in football history, and the most successful in European competition history, winning a record-breaking 14 Champions League trophies, as well as a plethora of other continental titles.
Their home form has had a lot to do with that, as the Santiago Bernabeu has turned into almost a sort of fortress, with the atmosphere rising higher especially on big European nights, as the fans in the stands know that they are the 12th man who could inspire the players to new heights.
The effect has been tremendous, as clubs very rarely pick up anything from the Bernabeu in the Champions League.
CSKA's 3-0 victory was the worst home loss that Real Madrid has endured in any official European competition since it officially began in 1956. The closest any club had previously come to this was in April of last season when Juventus had raced into a 309 lead at the Bernabeu in the second leg of their crunch UCL quarterfinal clash before a certain Ronaldo stepped up to convert a late injury-time penalty and send Real into the semifinal.
#4 Vinicius Jr -3rd youngest Real Madrid player to start a Champions League match
Signed for the princely sum of €45m from Palmeiras in the summer of 2017, the 18-year-old Brazilian was seen as the future of Real Madrid, it, therefore, came as a shock to may when he was rarely used by Julen Lopetegui (with reports indicating this played a major factor in his dismissal).
Vinicius made a name for himself as the next big thing to come out of Brazil, prompting Real to pay such a hefty sum for him despite not being professional yet, with the move being facilitated when the forward turned 18.
Vinicius arrived Real Madrid in the summer upon attaining the legal age for the transfer to sail through (having played less than 20 professional matches), but after struggling for game time under Lopetegui, he has found new life under Solari.
Solari has shown to put trust in youth, and Vinicius has benefited, seeing his contributions increase massively.
The Brazilian started from the go against CSKA, and at 18 years and 152 days, he is the third youngest player in Real Madrid history to start a Champions League match - behind Iker Casillas (18 y 117 d) and Raul (18y 77d), although he has a very long way to go before attaining the heights reached by the two who are among the all-time greats at the Bernabeu.`
#3 A home defeat nine years in the making
As stated earlier, Real have turned the Bernabeu into a sort of fortress, particularly in the Champions League group stage, as teams are almost certain to leave Spain empty handed upon their visit.
CSKA's victory on Wednesday at the Bernabeu was the first home defeat Real Madrid have suffered in the group stage since October 21, 2009, when AC Milan inflicted a 3-2 defeat on Real, with goals from Andrea Pirlo and a brace from Alexander Pato sinking Real to the sword.
To put that in perspective, the last time Real Madrid lost a Champions League group stage match at home, the iconic Raul Gonzalez was still the captain and number seven at Real, while Barack Obama was just into the first year of his first term.
Since then, Real won 25 of their next 27 homegroup matches (75 points from a possible 81) which gives the grandness of the feat CSKA pulled off.
#2 Third youngest starting XI ever for Real Madrid
Since taking charge of the Real first team, Santiago Solari has shown to have a lot of trust in the youngsters at Real Madrid, unlike his predecessor. The 44-year-old has blooded young players including Sergi Reguillon, Javi Sanchez, Vinicius, Federico Valverde, Jesus Vallejo among others.
Against CSKA Moscow, Solari named a very weakened side safe in the knowledge that first place in the group had been guaranteed, giving a majority of youngsters a chance to know what it feels like to start a Champions League match in the colours of Real Madrid.
The average age of the team named by Solari which started the match was 24y 100d, which is the third youngest in the history of the club, as well as the youngest since 6 December 2005 (a 2-1 defeat to Olympiakos which saw a then 19-year-old Sergio Ramos score his first goal for Real Madrid).
Unfortunately, like that day in Piraeus 13 years ago, Wednesday was also to end in defeat, as the belief in youth backfired.
#1 10 years since Real Madrid was defeated twice by the same opposition in Champions League group stage
Remarkably, the 3-0 victory for CSKA marked the second time this season that they had defeated Real Madrid in the group stage of the UCL.
The first of the pair came two months ago (seems more like eons) in Moscow, as they pulled off a hard-fought 1-0 victory in what was to be the beginning of the end for Lopetegui, as Real failed to score for the next eight hours.
The last team to get a home and away group stage victory over Real Madrid was Juventus a decade ago when they pulled off two wins over Los Blancos in Group H of the 2008/2009 UCL season.
Amauri and Del Piero were on hand to hand The Old Lady a 2-1 win at the Stadio Olimpico Turin, before the Juventus record goalscorer once more destroyed Real Madrid with a brace in a 2-0 second leg victory for Juve at the Bernabeu.
