13th April 2016. By Karl Matchett.
Coming soon after a Champions League comeback victory from two goals down, securing a clean sheet in the process and moving into the last four, it might sound churlish to criticise Zinedine Zidane's Real Madrid team for anything-but the truth is that the Spanish side's lack of defensive acumen remains a huge barrier to them achieving success this season.

Torn apart only a week ago by a mid-table Bundesliga side, Real were again horrifically open at times in the second leg-but this time around, Wolfsburg didn't commit players forward, didn't gamble on the counter and didn't play their searching diagonals to exploit the gaps.

Two goals to the good from early on in the match, Real Madrid had levelled up the aggregate scoreline at the Santiago Bernabeu and were on course to complete the comeback, yet were still in a precarious position: one goal conceded and they'd need to net four of their own, a tough proposition even with Cristiano Ronaldo in particularly determined form.

Experience, composure, calmness in high-pressure situations; everything Zidane would have wanted from his defenders, given they've been in the situation and won European titles previously, was bizarrely absent. Pepe popped up on the wing on a counter-attack, then strode forward to centre-forward with 10 minutes to go, leaving a huge space behind him. Finishing the tie off is one thing, but had the German side made use of him being out of position, Real would have had minimal time to find the extra fourth strike they would have needed.

Sergio Ramos likewise was his typical self: aggressive, determined, but also rash and prone to moments of lunacy, including a lunging tackle which could have brought him yet another red card and a powerful dribble down the left wing, again leaving huge gaps at the back which nobody thought to fill.

Zidane has sought to offset the offensive nature of his first-choice starting XI by balancing the midfield out with Casemiro in a holding role, but he alone cannot account for the moments of madness which the defence continues to show. Marcelo could have been easily red carded at least once over the two legs, while the less said about Danilo's first-leg performance the better.

When all are fit and finding form, Real's front three of Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale can trouble any defence in world football. They are powerful, have a good first touch, are capable of playing searching passes and of course have pace to burn and unerring finishing between them. Goals will come, almost as standard. Add in Luka Modric's work rate and creativity and the ongoing threat from the flanks as the full-backs push up, and Real-despite at times being lethargic and unbalanced-will always conjure up moments of danger in attack.

It's the other end of the field which will stop them winning titles, at least this season and until they fix the structure or the personnel.

La Liga remains tantalisingly out of reach; the gap to Barcelona is now just four points, but it's effectively five because of the head-to-head ruling, and there's also the small matter of Atletico Madrid being closer to the top. There's nothing Real can do about their city rivals, but it would be galling indeed if Barca choked in the final months of La Liga-but Real themselves were pipped by Cholo Simeone and his crew.

The Champions League is the last vestige of hope, a beacon of potential for Zidane's men.

Paris Saint-Germain's exit, Bayern Munich's lack of killer instinct of late and Barcelona's drop-off in form are all small signs that Europe's top competition might be more open and up for grabs than was expected.

Real will always consider themselves among the front-runners for the trophy, but the reality this season has been that they have never quite looked to be among the elite, neither in terms of performances nor in consistency of results-but only two games now stand between them and the final.

Two legs, against one of Europe's top four sides-supposedly, at this point of the campaign at least-and the margins for error grow ever smaller.

Unfortunately for Real Madrid, their errors are continually in the same place and if not for Keylor Navas would have been ruthlessly, brutally exposed many more times this season against inferior opposition. Now that the very best might be coming to town, it will finally be their undoing unless things change in the mentality and the discipline of the back line, significantly and quickly.