Ten days after losing 4-0 in El Clásico, Real Madrid did not just need to beat AC Milan on Tuesday, they needed a statement win. There needed to be proof that this team was starting to gel, that coach Carlo Ancelotti had the answers, and that the new, Kylian Mbappé-led project was headed in the right direction.
Instead, Tuesday's 3-1 defeat at the Santiago Bernabeu was more of the same: more evidence that something has gone badly wrong for the Spanish and European champions, and another hint that the kings of Europe might just, unthinkably, struggle to progress from the Champions League 36-team phase after two losses in four games.