Real Madrid made a special request before the Arsenal second leg but La Liga have just rejected it

Real Madrid will have to pull off one of the greatest comebacks in Champions League history to knock Arsenal out of the competition.

The Galacticos were the favourites in many people’s eyes to beat the Gunners in the first leg, but Mikel Arteta had other ideas.

Arsenal absolutely battered Real Madrid and will now take a 3-0 lead to the Santiago Bernabeu for the second leg on Wednesday.

Carlo Ancelotti’s men need a miracle, and they are seeking every bit of help they can get ahead of the big game next week.

Real Madrid’s request to La Liga gets rejected before the Arsenal game

Real Madrid are still in the race to win La Liga.

Barcelona are currently the favourites to go all the way in the Spanish top-flight – they are four points clear at the top and have eight games left to play.

Real Madrid are keen to chase them down, but they still have big hopes of overturning their deficit against Arsenal in the Champions League, despite being 3-0 down.

So, to give themselves the best chance of beating Arteta’s side, the Galacticos decided to make a special request to the Spanish football federation.

Los Blancos asked La Liga to bring forward their game against Alaves this weekend from Sunday to Saturday so that they can get an extra day’s rest before they have to face Arsenal.

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Their email to La Liga says, as revealed by Cadena Ser: “As you well know, this meeting is strategically located between the two games that we will play against Arsenal in the Champions League quarterfinals, on Tuesday, April 8, in London and on Wednesday, April 16, in Madrid.

“Advancing the match against Deportivo Alaves on Saturday, April 12, would allow us to have more margin to adequately prepare both that commitment and the decisive meeting on Wednesday the 16th at the Santiago Bernabéu.

“We are convinced that our request is fully reasonable, and we trust that it can be addressed.”

Alaves agreed to it, but La Liga did not. Real Madrid were told that ‘these types of requests must be made before the schedules are made official’.

Photo by Guillermo Martinez/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Do Arsenal have an advantage over Real Madrid because of scheduling?

After La Liga rejected their request, Real Madrid will play Alaves on Sunday at 3:15 pm.

Arsenal, on the other hand, are scheduled to take on Brentford in the Premier League on Saturday at 5:00 pm – over 20 hours before the Galacticos.

That can be viewed as an advantage, but Arsenal will have to travel to Madrid for the second leg at the Bernabeu on Wednesday.

So, we think that evens it out, and the game between the two sides will be played on fair terms.

It will be interesting to see if either Ancelotti or Arteta, or both, will rest key players in their respective league matches this weekend.

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