Chronicle Madrid defies death head-on to reach the Champions League semi-finals
"There's Something Happening in This Stadium" Night of "Suffering" and "Deliverance"
1-1 in Munich Chukwueze extends Villarreal's dream
The lawnmower The incredible talisman of Real Madrid
David Alaba
, at 180 centimeters, led the operations by height and rank.
When looking to the left of him, he found
Marcelo
, who in the previous nine Champions League games had only participated in 51 minutes as a substitute against the Sheriff.
On the opposite flank,
Lucas Vázquez , who had just joined, tried to suffocate Chelsea's offense in its most powerful sector, where
Mason Mount
and
Timo Werner
had hammered
.
And to complete the lace,
Dani Carvajal appeared
, with 173 centimeters in front of the English towers, after a night of continuous shivering with the ball and without it.
Enduring an extension against the European champions with these remnants is only within the reach of Real Madrid.
Of its adrenaline, its mystique, its history.
Chelsea will remember him for years.
And
Thomas Tuchel
, already deranged in the technical zone with a yellow card, will swear revenge, because he can't do more to come out so badly.
Two snapshots revealed the peculiar identity of this team and its very deep squad.
The first was the sternness of
Thiago Silva
, who invariably remained in the midfield while his teammates huddled together in goal celebrations.
The other, even more unique, was starred by
Kepa
shortly before the start of extra time, reviewing and raising the morale of the troops.
The added time seemed much more conducive to the visitors, a younger and more energetic team, more vertical wherever they wanted to look at themselves.
How then to deal with it?
More about the Champions
Opinion.
The incredible talisman of Real Madrid
Writing: JULIÁN RUIZ
The incredible talisman of Real Madrid
Chronicle of the match.
Madrid defies death head-on to reach the Champions League semi-finals
Drafting: ORFEO SUÁREZMadrid
Madrid defies death head-on to reach the Champions League semi-finals
In the 88th minute,
Nacho
's martyrdom had come to an end.
Even for a veteran like him, used to performing so many times above his level, the torment that
Werner
had subjected him to must have hurt his soul .
Broken by physical and moral pain, he gave his place to Lucas Vázquez.
It was the only plausible solution for
Ancelotti
, because after
Vallejo
's positive , the only healthy central defender on the bench was youth squad player
Rafa Marín
.
In this way, Carvajal accompanied Alaba on the axis, while Marcelo moved to the left-hand side.
Not even a war economy could take on a similar shortage.
Fearsome Havertz and Rudiger
At every corner kick, the mere presence of
Havertz
or
Rudiger
would strike fear into the stadium.
They didn't even need to jump at each corner, where Fede Valverde
or
Benzema
had to be urgently recruited
.
With four minutes to go, Havertz burst into the area for an uncontested header.
At that time, Rudiger was also working as a pigeon keeper.
And Marcelo had been limping on one leg for almost a quarter of an hour.
After repeatedly asking for permission,
Mendy
crossed 70 meters to try to at least get in the way of the last corner kick.
People crossed for every second of added time by
Szymon Marciniak
, but when the Pole crossed his arms and whistled the final whistle, the stadium fell apart with
Luka Modric
.
«It is an incredible night, a great match at the Bernabéu.
This defeat tastes very sweet”, began the genius from Zagreb, who had responded to the cheers with his fist raised, accompanying the entire team to the North Fund.
«We did not give up until the end and we have continued to believe.
We are used to suffering, like against Bayern, Juventus, Ajax, Schalke... It is difficult to describe what has happened, after so many injuries, but we have shown a lot of character », he added, while the stadium continued his delirium.
How to forget his assistance with the outside for
Rodrygo
's goal or every insignificant detail of his teaching.
Madrid will play its tenth Champions League semifinal in the last 12 years.
Eight of them, with Modric, who lasted the 120 minutes after an exhausting season, with hardly any relief.
Six semifinals also with
Toni Kroos
, who had felt like burning horn leaving the pitch midway through the second half.
And five for
Casemiro
, forced to leave his place to Rodrygo, weighed down by a warning.
Ancelotti's midfield is 98 years old, but he is still working in Europe.
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real Madrid
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Articles Miguel A. Herguedas