Former Chelsea player Craig Burley says Real Madrid won’t win the UEFA Champions League this season.
He does not see anything from the Spanish team on the pitch that shows they can win everything this season.
Burley talked to ESPN FC and said the players get nervous right when teams start pressing them, and the fans make things harder by getting impatient.
He said that Los Blancos will try to win the league title, but he doesn’t think they’ll reach the European competitions this season.
“You watch Real Madrid when other teams start to control the ball a lot, and the fans get more impatient. As they become more impatient, the players become more anxious.
“But Benfica did not let that happen by making that mistake. So, even though that’s true, the game was really close until the very end.
“But honestly, I don’t see anything from Real Madrid that suggests they’ll do well in this competition besides maybe winning La Liga, where there’s a title race.
“I might be wrong, but I don’t think so.”
Burley also said that Alvaro Arbelo’s team will have trouble as soon as they play against a strong team.
He named Bayern Munich, PSG, Arsenal, and Barcelona as teams that could take advantage of Real Madrid’s weakness.
“I’m not seeing anything that suggests Real Madrid will handle a really strong team well,” he said.
“If they face one of the bigger clubs that are performing well, like Bayern Munich or PSG when they’re at their best, or Arsenal or others like that, or even Barcelona again, I think they’re going to face some tough results because they’re not playing well right now.
“They have lost many chances and are still counting on lucky moments to win.”
Real Madrid will play either Manchester City or Sporting CP in the next round after defeating Benfica in the playoffs.
