"May God come down and explain to us", "From another world", "Incomprehensible" ... Thursday morning, the Spanish press was still looking for words to describe what happened at the Santiago-Bernabéu stadium, theater of an almost supernatural event.
Led and virtually eliminated in the 89th minute, the merengue club snatched the extension thanks to the double of young Rodrygo (90th, 90th + 1).
A penalty from Karim Benzema (95th) ended up overthrowing the English, as if petrified by this unimaginable scenario.
However, this is not the first time that the people of Madrid have managed a "climb" while being in a desperate situation.
They did it against Paris SG (0-1, 3-1) in the round of 16, then against Chelsea (3-1, 2-3 ap) in the next round.
The final score after Real's "comeback" against Manchester City in the Champions League semi-final second leg, May 4, 2022 in Madrid Paul ELLIS AFP
If at City, they lost (4-3) in the first leg, they managed to limit the gap by showing great mental strength, against a team that deserved to score more goals.
The Spanish public felt that confidence: "Si se puede" ("Yes, it's possible"), shouted the supporters a few minutes before Rodrygo equalized.
"King of Europe"
"With this jersey, you always learn to fight until the end. We were almost dead, but with my first goal, we started to believe it a little, and it happened again", assured the Brazilian 21 years old.
"We deserve this place in the final," assured coach Carlo Ancelotti on Wednesday evening, after having hugged his son Davide, a member of the Merengue staff, for a long time and crushed a small tear.
Its players have already enriched the legend of Real, the most successful club in the competition (13) which loves to describe itself as "the king of Europe".
"Since we come from ancient Rome, I attribute this success to the protection of the ghosts", wrote, lyrically, the honorary president of the newspaper As, Alfredo Relaño.
The magic power of the crest... If there is one who is transcended on the pitch, it is Benzema, author of an exceptional season which makes him the favorite to win the next Ballon d'Or .
Karim Benzema scores a penalty for Real against Manchester City, in the Champions League semi-final second leg, on May 4, 2022 in Madrid GABRIEL BOUYS AFP
The French striker scored his 15th goal of the season in C1, which allows him to equal the total of Bayern star Robert Lewandowski (86).
Above them are only Cristiano Ronaldo (140) and Lionel Messi (125).
Hungry for titles and records, the native Lyonnais is looking for a fifth European crown after those of 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2018.
Beauty in Saint-Denis
At "home", at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, the opportunity is good for the Lyonnais to adorn himself with gold, in a country which has long refused him the national team for his trouble with the law.
Real players celebrate their qualification for the Champions League final, after beating Manchester City, on May 4, 2022 in Madrid Paul ELLIS AFP
Already guaranteed to be champion of Spain, Real must play four Championship matches, including one against Atlético on Sunday, before the big evening of May 28 which awaits them against Liverpool.
Like Madrid, the "Reds" want to write history, becoming the first English team to win all four trophies of the season.
They also have their Ballon d'Or contender, the Senegalese Sadio Mané, Benzema's N.1 competitor.
Liverpool also beat Real in the final in 1981 (1-0), at the Parc des Princes in Paris, but the Spaniards took their revenge in 2018, in kyiv (3-1).
For the beauty, the players of Jürgen Klopp, whose style impresses this season, leave as favorites.
But facing the Madrid reed, which bends without ever breaking in the face of the opponent's domination, this is not necessarily good news for them.
© 2022 AFP