Real Madrid in the Champions League: Another resurrection – Sport

On Thursday night, just after half past one, one of the heroes of the evening in Madrid asked for an audience with a grandmaster of the past. At the man whom Giovanni Agnelli, once president of Juventus Turin, had christened “Pinturicchio” after an Italian master of the Renaissance: Alessandro Del Piero. Strictly speaking, the young man in question – Real Madrid’s Brazilian substitute Rodrygo – had asked the maître of the De María inn confidentially whether Del Piero could come to his private room, Rodrygo was sitting there with a stately entourage.

It wasn’t a question of arrogance. But the concern that exactly what happened would happen: that all the guests would get up from their seats and follow him to get a photo of the two. But the maître strictly followed the protocol: “Who is the master here and who is the apprentice?” he asked. And so Rodrygo stood up and asked for a photo with Del Piero – to cap off the day he miraculously progressed to the Champions League semi-finals with Real Madrid.

If Del Piero were really a painter like Pinturicchio – and not an expert and traveling salesman for an Italian TV station – he could have drawn a fantastic painting of a battle. The title should have been ‘Real Madrid 2, Chelsea FC 3’ and it could have used every color and shade on the palette, the match was so spectacular. The term “Renaissance”, rebirth, would also have suggested itself in many ways.

The first leg ended 3-1 in favor of Real Madrid; and the coach of the reigning Champions League winner, Thomas Tuchel, said afterwards that his team was dead. No way! And if so, she experienced a rebirth, actually not only scoring three goals through the outstanding Jason Mount (15th minute), Antonio Rüdiger (51st) and Timo Werner (74th), but four: The Polish referee let go after one Goals by Marcos Alonso talked over by the video referee until he made a decision against the goal and for the bureaucracy because of a handball, which even the Spanish newspaper El País as exemplary for the “Bean counter times” “in which we live”.

“When the score was 3-0, the magic of the Bernabéus came through,” says Ancelotti

But then it was Real Madrid that rose from the dead according to Holy Week. Substitute Rodrygo first scored (80th) and forced extra time, then Karim Benzema made it 3-2. Which meant that Real’s 3-1 win in the first leg was worth its weight in gold when adding up the two duels. The Spanish record champions reached the semi-finals of the Champions League for the tenth time in twelve years.

“It was a sweet defeat,” said Real midfielder Luka Modric, who had delivered perhaps the finest work of a Renaissance evening: with an outside of the foot pass finer than any Pinturicchio brushstroke, leading to Rodrygo completing a volley and direct. The goal represented the individual quality that Chelsea coach Tuchel had, in all fairness, identified as the key factor in Madrid’s victory when the game was over.

“We played a fantastic game and deserved more than we got,” said Tuchel. But just because he was understandably proud didn’t mean he left Madrid free of resentment.

Chelsea coach Tuchel is “super disappointed” with the referee

When the game was over, he’d streaked across the pitch to pay respects to all his players. They had a match plan that the newspaper ace called “immense”, implemented perfectly, and with burning patience played out this 3:0 lead, which would have meant the semi-finals and in the end it wasn’t enough.

But when he spotted referee Szymon Marciniak on the pitch, he saw him joking and laughing with Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti. This Ancelotti is “a nice guy, a gentleman” with whom you can laugh a lot, said Tuchel. But does that really have to be after a 120-minute fight that had brought everyone to the brink of exhaustion? “I think that’s very, very bad timing, and I told him that,” said Tuchel. Especially since he was angry with the referee because he had denied Alonso’s goal when the video referee called.

“I told him I was super disappointed that he didn’t check (the scene) himself (on the screen),” explained Tuchel. As a field referee, one should “remain the boss” and not leave such decisions to someone “sitting in his chair somewhere isolated from the atmosphere”. Quite apart from that, he was convinced his side “deserved to have more stoppage time”. “But maybe that’s asking too much in games like this against this opponent…” Although it is true that the corner that led to Rüdiger’s 2-0 lead was mistakenly awarded. Contrary to what the referee perceived, the shot by a Chelsea player flew straight out of bounds without the ball being touched by a Madrilenian.

Open detailed view

It was understandable that Tuchel thought that Chelsea was undeservedly eliminated. Because Chelsea were the structurally better team and – both games together – had more possession (57:43 percent), more shots on goal (49:18) and more corners (15:3). In Madrid, “two mistakes at crucial moments”, two turnovers in the build-up game meant the end. Madrid coach Ancelotti saw things a little differently: “When the score was 3-0, the magic of the Bernabéus came out, the magic of this club,” said the Italian, who has now reached his eighth premiership semi-final.

Antonio Rüdiger showed “a world-class performance in all respects” in front of national coach Flick, praised Tuchel

Strictly speaking, he had paved the way for this magic himself by replacing the pale Toni Kroos – and bringing “more energy” to the field with the young Eduardo Camavinga (73rd), as Ancelotti said. Kroos scolded and cursed about it in the finest Spanish, he almost refused to shake hands with Ancelotti – under the eyes of national coach Hansi Flick.

What Flick also saw in the Bernabéu’s grandstand were appealing performances by World Cup squad candidates Timo Werner, Kai Havertz (who would have scored a goal with a header when the score was 3-0 if Thibaut Courtois hadn’t made an outstanding save), and vor above all: Antonio Rüdiger. The defender not only had – like Werner – a goal to offer. He had incredible presence, found himself more often in the playmaker position than in the center of defence, where he nevertheless performed brilliantly. “Toni was outstanding, he showed a world-class performance in every respect. His mentality and his focus, his leadership quality… Outstanding,” said Tuchel.

But even that wasn’t enough – because Modric spotted young Rodrygo, and Benzema was in the right spot after a Vinicius solo. The Frenchman has now scored 38 goals this season, 14 of them in his last nine games, including hat-tricks in Madrid against Paris Saint-Germain and in London against Chelsea. And he is the guarantee that Real Madrid is a title contender. “Nobody will be able to say that we cannot win,” said Ancelotti.