Watching a Real Madrid match in the Champions League is like living the life of Bill Murray in A day without end. We see the Madrilenians under the waves for half an hour, we think that this time it’s not going to happen, and then they only need half an opportunity to make everyone agree. Even though we know it, we say to ourselves that we will no longer be surprised, it still has a small effect.
Tuesday evening against Bayern Munich in the semi-final first leg, Mendy, Tchouaméni and their little comrades almost fell behind after 40 seconds of play, before conceding six other shots in twenty minutes of play. Opposite? Nada, not a ball came within 30 meters of Neuer. And then the lethal boost: Kroos who puts everyone to sleep in the central circle, Vinicius who plays with Kim to dump him on the sidelines, and the German who sends the Brazilian to score with one touch. This is how you turn off a stadium.
Character and force of habit
“They scored against the run of play, but that’s how they do it. They have fast and talented young players. They can hurt you in a second,” Harry Kane could only admire after the match.
Rebelote in the second half. Overthrown in three minutes by the Bavarian fury, Real found the resources in the last ten minutes not to lose, thanks again to Vinicius and Kim, whose wrestling hold on Rodrygo in the area could not lead to anything other than ‘a peno. “We could have done better in a lot of aspects, but it’s not easy to come here,” Tchouaméni debriefed at Canal’s microphone. We managed to come back thanks to this collective strength, this desire to give everything until the end. »
But seriously, what is the Aurélien secret? During the quarter-final return to Manchester City, two weeks ago, it had already been a model of its kind: 34 shots to 8, 120 attacks to 19, 18 corners to 1, without ever panicking, before snatching the qualification on penalties. “It’s not something we talk about between us, it’s just part of the DNA of our team,” observes the French midfielder. We know that we have to give everything, even in complicated situations. Afterwards, it would be good to be more in action and not always in reaction. »
Observation shared by Carlo Ancelotti. If the Italian coach, hands in his pockets and serene eyebrows in front of his bench in all circumstances, is not for nothing in the tranquility of his team, he has not necessarily tasted everything he has seen on the pitch from Bayern. “In the first half we should have been a little more active, pressed a little more. It wasn’t our best version,” he said.
On his team’s weak times, however, Carletto has an explanation: “It’s our characteristic, we have players who need breaks, especially the full-backs, they can’t always move on. It somewhat determines the different moments of our team. »
Not worried, he knows that when she decides to move on, not much can stop her. The memory of the crazy 2022 campaign, with incredible turnarounds against PSG, Chelsea then Man City, is still vivid. Between Real and the Champions League, there is this link which never seems to be broken. “We still managed to come back. Now, let’s go to the Bernabeu,” said Tchouaméni before disappearing. With the smile of someone who has already understood everything in less than two years here.