Just days after what appeared to be a potentially transformative El Clasico win over Barcelona, Real Madrid fell apart completely in the Champions League.

Facing Wolfsburg in the quarter-final first leg in Germany, Zinedine Zidane's side contrived to lose 2-0 to leave themselves with a major challenge if they want to reach the semi-finals again.

But what really went wrong for Real last night?

Madrid-based football writer Dermot Corrigan says it was a return to form - more precisely the form that currently has them back in third in this season's La Liga race.

"They regressed back to how they've been playing in the last couple of weeks. It seemed Zidane took over and results didn't go too well for them. They lost to Atletico and drew a couple of games away from home," he told Off The Ball. 

Real Madrid's head coach Zinedine Zidane, left, looks on as Real Madrid's Karim Benzema leaves the pitch after suffering an injury during the Champions League first leg quarterfinal soccer match between VfL Wolfsburg and Real Madrid in Wolfsburg, Germany, Wednesday, April 6, 2016. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn)

"They started off okay [against Wolfsburg] but as soon as the first goal went in and then the second goal quickly, they lost all shape as a team."

Their emphasis on star-power over cohesion was visible, Corrigan added.

He also explained that Zidane's post-match press conference was Gary Neville-esque in the sense that the current manager was not cagey in his explanations unlike more experienced coaches.