Cristiano Ronaldo Saves Real Madrid, but Champions League Defence Is Shaky

When the referee's final whistle blew, it was followed by a deafening chorus of them from the stands.

In one section of the Santiago Bernabeu, Schalke's travelling support was buoyant. Around them, Real Madrid fans were furious. Bewildered. Like they were ready to revolt. 

White handkerchiefs waved around the stadium. Cristiano Ronaldo, the biggest star in white in the middle, shook his head in utter frustration. 

Forty-five minutes earlier, during ITV's coverage at half-time of the Champions League contest, Roy Keane had labelled Real Madrid's performance as one that belonged to a "pub team."

It was harsh but not at all wrong. And the reaction at the final whistle suggested those inside the ground agreed. 

On the night, Real Madrid lost, scored three, conceded four and scraped through on aggregate, all while producing one of the club's most calamitous performances in recent memory. 

If not for Ronaldo, the night would have ended in unthinkable embarrassment. 

Indeed, no team in Champions League history had ever reversed a two-goal deficit when playing the second leg away from home. But on Tuesday, Real Madrid almost allowed Schalke to become the first. 

And the manner in which they did so was alarming. 

Raphael Varane played a shocking back pass. Fabio Coentrao made an erroneous wander into the middle that cost him. Alvaro Arbeloa neglected the basics and didn't maintain connection with the defensive line. Toni Kroos simply watched play by play move past him. Sami Khedira looked completely lost as to what the hosts were trying to do. Iker Casillas basically punched the first goal into his net, parried another shot into the path of Klaas-Jan Huntelaar for the second and didn't even attempt to move for Schalke's third from the boot of Leroy Sane. 

In their own stadium, Real Madrid were forced to hang on after beginning the night with a two-goal head start. 

Only Ronaldo's pair of bullet headers in the first half ensured they did. 

Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images

"Clearly I'm sorry about this, it was a very bad game and that's not good for the image of this club. I'm really sorry and I feel the whistles," manager Carlo Ancelotti remarked after the game, per Heath Chesters of Inside Spanish Football.

"We all know we've played really badly and there's no need just for me to say it, because it's the truth," he added. 

For Ancelotti, it's difficult to know what's worse: the basic skill errors committed by his players or the fact they appeared completely bereft of attentiveness and discipline. 

"It's natural for us to be lacking a little confidence and I think that physically we've dipped a little too," the manager said when expounding on the latest performance in the team's ongoing slump.

"We've dropped in all aspects of our play. That has been very clear. We've lost some confidence in the way we play our game and our identity. It's difficult for us to play the way we want to."

If Real Madrid's defence of their Champions League title is to retain any credibility, that needs to change. Fast. Because recent results suggest Los Blancos, in current form, won't get past Europe's elite. 

Since defeating Liverpool at home in November, Real Madrid's only victories of note have come in the first-leg meeting with Schalke and against Sevilla.

Other than that, Real's wins have come against Rayo Vallecano, Eibar, Basel, Malaga, Cornella, Ludogorets, Almeria, Cruz Azul, San Lorenzo, Espanyol, Getafe, Cordoba, Real Sociedad, Deportivo de La Coruna and Elche. 

But against the stronger outfits, or those good on their home patch, Madrid's recent record is, well, worrying.

Against Athletic Bilbao? Stifled. Against Villarreal? The same. Against Valencia? Outfought. Against Atletico Madrid? Hammered. And against Schalke? It goes without saying. 

Staggeringly, if Real Madrid—yes, Real Madrid—were to meet one of the elite sides remaining in the Champions League right now, such as Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Barcelona or Atletico, they'd probably start the contest as outsiders. On form, Real would be the underdogs.  

For the defending champions, for a group less than three months removed from a spell of emphatic record-breaking, that on its own is remarkable. An extreme about-face. 

Thankfully for Real Madrid, they have a month before any such challenge in a quarter-final arrives. A month to regain confidence. A month to recapture their identity. 

A month to repair what suddenly looks like a shaky Champions League title defence.