"Remontada" or bust is what they were saying.

Overturn a 2-0 deficit or walk away embarrassed in front of fans at the Santiago Bernabeau, almost washing away the good will built over the last few months. For Real Madrid, this was the situation heading into Thursday's meteoric tilt with rival Atletico Madrid.

The team needed a win by three or more goals to have any hopes of a quarterfinals berth in the Copa Del Rey. An opportunity to defend one of its crowns from the 2013-14 season.

But the team failed. There was a measure of redemption in drawing 2-2, but now Madrid has failed to beat its crosstown rivals in four straight games since winning the Champions League title in May. And to look at it from an even broader perspective, ever since Atletico ended its run of futility against Los Blancos in the Copa del Rey final in 2013, Los Colchoneros have a record of five wins, three draws and three losses (two losses were in last year's Copa del Rey knockout rounds).

After last week's 2-0 loss, we examined what Atletico did to take down Madrid. This time the situation altered significantly, with new factors causing Los Blancos painful heartache. Here is why Real Madrid is now eliminated from winning one of the three remaining titles at its disposal:

Fernando Torres

Remember how Torres made his big debut a week ago and looked as poor as has come to be expected from him? Few had faith in his formerly clinical abilities, and his first game back in Madrid showcased those deficiencies. He had no shots on goal in that contest and only managed 16 touches.

On Thursday, Torres made sure to avoid such a disastrous performance and scored on his first shot at goal just under a minute into the tilt. He had four shots and 26 touches. He was clinical when it was called for and looked rather dangerous throughout the game.

Strong Defense

During last week's contest, we talked about Atletico Madrid shrinking the space in the middle of the pitch and forcing Los Blancos to the wings, where the team found less space with which to create. The strategy did not change all that much in this second leg and Los Blancos, while possessing the ball for most of the match, simply looked overwhelmed by Atletico's stingy defense.

Being at home, Los Blancos found an extra edge to their attack and managed 31 shots at goal, a huge increase from the 10 from last week's 2-0 loss. Moreover, the team, which only managed three shots on target last week, got eight on target this time and two to actually go in.

But the real number that stands out in this analysis is the 13 blocked shots Madrid had to endure from their rivals. Atletico only blocked five in last week's game, but this time, faced with a great barrage on enemy turf, Los Colchoneros managed to get in front of shots to further frustrate Madrid.

The Aerial Duel

In the last analysis, Atletico's set piece brilliance was highlighted from an offensive perspective. And while the team did give up two goals from the air, the team's aerial prowess came up in a big way during the second leg.

Madrid got 10 corner kicks in this game, but managed little with them. Part of the reason for that is the 20 defensive aerial duels won by Atletico with eight won by Diego Godin. The air was Real Madrid's greatest opportunity for the "remontada," but it is also where the team came up in a match that it almost thoroughly dominated.

Real Madrid Mistakes

Pepe made a horrific challenge on Antoine Griezmann that allowed the Frenchman enough space to find Torres for the opener. Sergio Ramos made a woeful pass that also led directly to the second Torres goal. And Keylor Navas, who has been woeful for Los Blancos in recent weeks, played the shot poorly and let it seep through him.

When one really looks at what defined this game, it was two mental mistakes in the opening minutes of each half that cost Madrid.

So What's Next?

The silver linings are as follows: Madrid managed a draw so at least it left with some dignity in tact. But probably more importantly, an early bow from this competition means more rest while its immediate rivals will be dueling one another in coming weeks and will likely be whittling away in this least important of competitions.