Real: Camavinga, head in the hands

Coming on in the 62nd minute and sent off 24 minutes later, Eduardo Camavinga cost Real Madrid dearly; at the time of his sending-off, the side had managed to level the aggregate score with Bayern Munich (1-2, 3-4) in Wednesday’s Champions League quarter-final. A stark symbol of the French midfielder’s current slump.

Eduardo Camavinga spent just under half an hour on the pitch at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday during the Champions League quarter-final second leg, but that was enough to sum up his troubled spell.

Brought on by Alvaro Arbeloa in the 62nd minute to bolster Real Madrid’s midfield – having made up for their first-leg deficit and holding their own against Bayern Munich (3-4 final score, 1-2 first leg) – the French midfielder threw it all away in the space of 24 minutes.

A harsh and irreversible second yellow card

Sent off in the 86th minute after a second booking that was both largely avoidable and harsh, the former Rennes player left his teammates to finish with ten men in the final minutes of a tense quarter-final, ultimately lost by Los Merengues, who were undone by two fine goals from Luis Diaz and Michael Olise, who had long left the spectators at the Allianz Arena wanting more. A performance that mirrored his recent weeks: scrappy, frustrating and far from the standard he is capable of.

One might also wonder whether Slavko Vincic would have upheld that decision had he remembered that he had booked the French international eight minutes earlier – this time beyond dispute – for pulling the shirt of Jamal Musiala, who had broken free down the middle. The Slovenian referee’s body language, as he showed Camavinga his second yellow card for keeping the ball in his hands after a minor foul had been called against him, suggests the official may have ‘forgotten’ the earlier caution, leaving him with no way to backtrack.

A sense of injustice for Arbeloa

For the Madrid delegation, there is no doubt about it: Camavinga’s red card was unwarranted and completely disrupted the end of the match. “The decision hinged on that incident, that’s obvious, but I don’t blame Eduardo, who didn’t deserve to be sent off. It’s very tough after such a performance. It’s something we can’t control. Eduardo’s sending-off is inexplicable. I feel a sense of injustice. I get the feeling that Vincic didn’t know Camavinga had already been booked,” lamented Arbeloa at the press conference.

Ultimately, the picture is clear: Camavinga has failed to really take off at Real Madrid, nearly five years after his transfer. Long seen as one of the faces of Madrid’s future, the former Rennes player is now going through a period of turbulence rarely seen since his arrival in Spain. But the Bernabéu still dreams of fully realising the Frenchman’s potential: “He has the confidence of everyone at the club and, of course, the manager,” Arbeloa pointed out last week. It is surely time for the player to step up a gear and establish himself as a key figure at Real, who have already given him plenty of time to prove himself.