“0-4 and now this”headlines Marca after Real Madrid’s crushing 1-3 defeat at home to AC Milan on Matchday 4 of the Champions League, before underlining: “The Merengues repeat the mistakes of the Clasico in another mediocre match.” And explains: “Morata (author of the 2^e Milan goal) puts Madrid in crisis. The Spanish striker led a solid Lombardy side, taking advantage of White’s weakness on the right flank. Ancelotti’s beloved Milan placed the Italian coach in his most delicate situation since returning to the White bench. The Lombardy team, which has not finished carburating, has left Madrid frayed, without play or a physical backbone, where everyone is below their level. Álvaro Morata led a fresh and clear set of ideas, where they defend from first to last. These days, you can’t afford for two footballers to go out of the game when the opponent has the ball. Or go to Europe without a right-back. The match with the most European Cups on grass was already born tangled for Madrid…”

“Real crisis”insists Mundo Deportivo. “Real Madrid followed in the wake of their defeat to Barça by losing to Milan in the European classic. A poor performance from the Whites, who once again generated plenty of doubts and were whistled at by the Bernabeu. Real Madrid lost the La Liga Clasico against Barcelona at the Bernabeu and fell to Milan in the European classic. The worst thing for the Merengues was not so much the defeat as the bad image left in both duels. It was a team that generated a lot of doubts, both in defense and attack, with Vinicius and Mbappé not the forwards to make the difference. All this was evident against Barça and was repeated against Milan, who took advantage of the many weaknesses in the White team to storm the Bernabeu. A KO that leaves the Whites on the brink of crisis, if they’re not already there.”

AS extends : “Madrid, who failed in the Clasico, repeated their disaster against Milan. Classics don’t heal well. Madrid found themselves with a team whose shortcomings are moving from the circumstantial to the structural at breakneck speed. They have lost an organizer, Kroos, and are in the process of losing their recuperator, Tchouameni. Bellingham is lengthening his decline phase, the central defenders are struggling, Courtois’ absence is dragging on, Mbappé is spoiling his good work when he looks at goal. The result was a defeat by a Milan team that had so far won just one match and has little to do with the seven European Cups accumulated in its history. Despite this, they won deservedly and called on Madrid’s crisis cabinet.” And looks ahead to an uncertain future: “Pending what happens on Wednesday (which could further complicate matters), Madrid are 17th in the table, seven places from elimination from their favourite competition. The reigning champions need to wake up, but the fixture list is not going to make their task any easier. Indeed, there will be no shortage of pitfalls, with three tough away games and just one at home to Salzburg.”

In Italy, the Gazzetta dello Sport is on fire: “Galactic Milan. In the garden of the Bernabeu, which in 89 showed the world the beauty of an immortal Milan. (C1 semi-final second leg)Perhaps a much more human devil was born, who showed a strong soul and probably a future. Is this the turning point of the season, the next performances will have to tell, but it’s certain that Milan restarted from Madrid with a new awareness and with a serious mortgage on the Champions Round of 16. They deservedly beat reigning champions Real Madrid 3-1, always managing the game with confidence and maturity. This is only the second time in their glorious history that the Devils have conquered the Bernabeu in an official match. Only Leonardo succeeded in 2009, not Sacchi, not the other patriarchs.”

In Switzerland, Le Matin summarizes: “Real Madrid, who had been unbeaten at home in the Champions League since April 2022, went down logically 3-1, their second consecutive defeat at home after the spanking they received against Barcelona in the Clasico.”

In England, the Guardian points out: “Álvaro Morata silences Bernabeu and Milan takes advantage of Real Madrid’s malaise.” And tells: “For a brief moment, we wondered if it would happen again. Eight minutes from the end of the match between the clubs that have won this competition more than anyone else, and with Real Madrid trailing 3-1, Antonio Rüdiger fired what could have been a clarion call, a call to arms, the madness taking hold of this place again and paving the way for another of those wild comebacks. This time, there was no return, no epic, only reality. And justice. Rüdiger was offside and the goal was disallowed, the illusion lasting only as long as the VAR check, leaving Milan to cruise to a victory they richly deserved.” The BBC dwells on Kylian Mbappé’s isolation: “It has been an extremely frustrating evening for Madrid fans, watching Kylian Mbappé, who has scored just one goal in six games, continue to struggle in front of goal. The 25-year-old prefers to play on the left wing, but Ancelotti kept Vinicius in that position, forcing Mbappe to play centrally (…) This was Madrid’s first match since losing the Clasico, their trip to Valencia having been postponed following the floods that hit Spain.”