Ian Wright blasts Real Madrid pitch after Arsenal defeat: ‘F****** disgrace’ | Football

Ian Wright slammed the state of Real Madrid’s pitch after Arsenal fell to a first-leg defeat in their Women’s Champions League quarter-final clash.

The Gunners have it all to do in the second leg at the Emirates after goals from Linda Caicedo and Athenea saw Real claim a 2-0 win in the first leg.

However, it was not just Arsenal struggling on the night, with heavy rain producing a sodden surface for both sides at the Alfredo Di Stéfano Stadium.

A slip from Leah Williamson in the rain allowed Caicedo to run through and score the opening goal in a game in which both sides struggled to produce free-flowing football due to the conditions.

Despite heavy downpours being forecast, Real opted against hosting the match at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium which has a retractable roof.

The men’s team did not play at home last week and do not return to action at their home venue until after the international break on March 29.

And watching on from home, Wright was left furious by the state of the pitch in Madrid.

‘Watching the Champions League quarter-final Real Madrid pitch, this is worse than Derby’s pitch the other day,’ Wright said on social media, referencing the Pride Park pitch which came under scrutinty following Saturday’s Women’s League Cup final between Chelsea and Manchester City.

‘This is a f****** disgrace the pitches these girls have to play on.’

Asked about the pitch at full-time, Arsenal boss Renee Sleger did not hide her disappointment with the conditions her side had to deal with.

‘Of course weather is not within control, but I think we’ve seen a couple of games lately where the pitch conditions haven’t been great and I think that’s the next step for women’s football to take,’ she said.

‘We spoke about it with the players before the game. We knew the condition of the pitch.

‘So we had a plan for it but then it’s always hard, because over a season and over time you work on things, and you have an identity the way you want to do things.

‘So then reality comes and these conditions come and all of a sudden you need to do things differently, so that’s hard. But the players tried, so all credit to them for trying and their work rate.

‘But again, I think we’re all confident that we can do something against them at the Emirates at home because it’s only half time.’

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