Real Madrid have followed Liverpool to the Champions League final after a terrific battle. Four days after winning the 35th Spanish championship early, the team led by ex-national player Toni Kroos beat Manchester City 3-1 (2-1, 0-0) after extra time in the semi-final second leg on Wednesday evening. The English champions won the equally spectacular first duel 4:3. The international press writes the following about it.
Great Britain:
The Sun: “Pep Guardiola has found some extraordinary ways to lose key Champions League games in his six years in charge of Manchester City. But none of them drove the former Barcelona boss nearly as crazy as this one.”
The Guardians: “Magic beats control. Guardiola’s suffering in Madrid’s enchanted gorge. City looked like a version of City that wasn’t quite City.”
DailyMail: “Man City self-destructs in Madrid.”
Daily Mirror: “Pep’s nightmare! Man City surrender in stoppage time while Real Madrid snatch last place in Champions League final.”
TheTimes: “Ambusked in Madrid: two crazy minutes in added time drive City insane.”
Spain:
Brand: “Real Madrid are writing the greatest heroic story ever told. You can’t explain miracles, you live them. A miracle, but also character, faith, quality and soul. This is Real Madrid.”
AS: “Real is from another world. The final miracle. No one can resist the destructive power of the Bernabeu Stadium. This team is out of this world. Manchester City, Guardiola and all the luxury that surrounds them melted before a wild and always Resurgent Real Madrid gone. Rodrygo, the superhero, is having the game of his life. Real are the eternal finalists.”
El Mundo Deportivo: “Don’t try to explain it because honestly there is no explanation for what happened with Real Madrid and the Champions League. In the 89th minute the Whites were out of the final and in the 95th minute they were in the final of the Champions League. Another wondrous historic night for Real Madrid at the Bernabeu (…).”
Sports: “Incredible. Once again, Real turns the game in a surprising way when they were actually already knocked out and dead. What Real pulled off there has no logic and is outside the normal footballing parameters. Guardiola has something like that himself never seen before.”
La Vanguardia: “The myth of the Bernabeu is also engulfing Guardiola’s City.”
El Mundo: “New miracle at the Bernabeu.”
Italy
Gazzetta dello Sport: “Real needs 90 seconds to save himself from hell. This is a golden year for King Carlo, he succeeds in everything.”
Corriere dello Sport: “Ancelotti is a living legend. The coach manages to catch up once again and sinks Guardiola. It can’t just be luck when Ancelotti’s team manages to win an impossible match.”
tuttosport: “Real’s masterpiece! Real is celebrating its resurrection. Ancelotti drags Real into its fifth final match in nine years.”
La Republica: “An immortal Real Madrid brings Manchester City to its knees and makes history. Ancelotti confirms himself as one of the best coaches in the world.”
Corriere della Sera: “Ancelotti turns a lost match inside out. He’s the true star of the evening. Rodrygo, with his brace, is the hero of a magical evening and even surpasses Benzema’s performance.”