Real Madrid Win at the Death… Again
Well.
Somehow, they did it again.
Real Madrid have advanced to their second Champions League final in three years after beating European rivals, Bayern Munich, in spectacular fashion, but also ironically typical fashion when speaking of Real Madrid.
Madridistas will be rejoicing in the familiar euphoria; while opposition fans and Real Madrid haters will be wondering how they keep getting away with this like Jesse Pinkman in Breaking Bad. This feels like some sort of cosmic cycle or universal force. It seems to not matter the score, how much time remains, the quality of the opposition, they just… win. Every time.
They’ve been turning games on their head with just minutes to remain all season. It’s been a pattern, they seem to suddenly get serious, turn the energy up when they realize that there’s a possibility they’ll actually lose the game. As if they weren’t really trying their hardest for the previous 80 or so minutes. They did it twice in the league against Barça, with Bellingham (we’ll get to him) scoring the winning goals in both the home and away fixtures. 10 times in La Liga and twice in the Champions League Real Madrid have scored in the final 10 minutes of regular time or during stoppage time to win games this season. It’s become a funny (or cruel) habit at this point.
Not even limited to this season, the last time they made the Champions League final (and won the tournament) they went on a series of teasing their opposition in the knockout rounds. After going 2-0 down on aggregate in the second leg against PSG in the Round of 16, Karim Benzema scored a hat trick in half an hour to put them through. When Chelsea were beating them 4-3 on aggregate, Rodrygo and Benzema scored in the 80th and 96th minute to put them through. And then, in the most famous of the comebacks, they scored twice in added time against Man City via Rodrygo to go to extra time, where Benzema scored the winner and they advanced to the final. The most bizarre, risky, extraordinary Champions League run in recent, or probably all, of history.
Speaking of Jude Bellingham, his story and the way he’s taken to this part of his (very young) career has been so impressive, it’s shocking to remember that he’s still only 20 years old. The season that he’s having is so romantic, it’ll remind many of the kind they have with their virtual pro on FIFA. The late game-winning goals (he’s scored 5 game winners in the last 10 minutes of games this year), winning the league title and playing in his first Champions League final. Which just so happens to be against his former team, Dortmund – where he made his name in world football – only a year after leaving the club. At Wembley Stadium, of all places. All in his first season at Real Madrid. All with such poise and composure. In a post game interview, Rio Ferdinand asked him if he was feeling any pressure before the game, to which he responded: “Not really”. One of the coolest heads around, living the quintessential dream.
It remains to be seen if they’ll finish the fairy tale and win the whole competition, but they’re definitely the favourites over Dortmund heading into the final. Not that the odds seem to matter to them anyway.
