In the early morning of 5 May, in the champions league semi-finals, when Mahrez sent the ball into the Real Madrid goal in the 73rd minute, the Bernabeu Stadium was silent for an instant, because At this time, Manchester City had taken a 5-3 lead, leaving Real Madrid with only 17 minutes of regular time left. However, in serious football, in the face of reverse metaphysics, it does not help.
Rodrigo's two goals in the two minutes before the final game pulled Real Madrid back from the brink of death, and Benzema's point-making + hit in extra time allowed Real Madrid to complete another earth-shattering comeback. In this case, Manchester City manager Guardiola can only helplessly say: "Football is an unpredictable sport, that's it, you have to accept." ”
It was a game in which pre-match predictions were largely in favor of Manchester City, with a comeback on the left and right wings filling Guardiola's squad and Real Madrid losing the defensive core of Alaba. But in the face of adversity, Ancelotti showed surprising courage. Just two minutes after Mahrez broke the deadlock, he replaced Modric and Casemirozi and sent Asensio and the young Camaringa, who were rumored to be leaving the team. It was Asensio who scored a goal equalizing Rodrigo in the 91st minute, laying a solid foundation for a comeback in extra time.
In fact, before the match began, Liverpool's top player Salah, who led the team to the final first, publicly expressed his hope to meet Real Madrid in the final. The reason is simple, revenge. In the 2017/18 Champions League final, Liverpool had a narrow encounter with Real Madrid, and as a result, Salah suffered a rough foul on Real Madrid captain Ramos, which directly led to a shoulder dislocation and was forced to tearfully, and in that final, Liverpool finally lost 1-3. While goalkeeper Karius's mega misstep was the direct cause of the Reds' loss of the title, if Salah is always on the pitch, Real Madrid will not be so easy to win.
Although it has been a full 4 years since that final, salah is already in charge of the Champions League, but the defeat still makes him angry. If he can personally defeat Real Madrid in the Champions League final, it will be the biggest demon for him. However, it is not only Salah who wants revenge, but also Liverpool, led by Salah. There are also people on the Real Madrid side who are ready for revenge, that is, manager Carlo Ancelotti. His motivation for revenge is the night in Istanbul, which is still popular.
That night, Liverpool tied the score 3-0 and beat AC Milan on penalties, creating an insurmountable miracle in Champions League history, but Ancelotti was forever nailed to the wall of shame. After that, he and ac Milan, who he led at the time, were mentioned by CCTV football programs so many times that every time a team completed a magical reversal, Milan fans trembled, and this time it was estimated that it was no exception, although it was Ancelotti who led the team to win.
Ancelotti has led the team to the Champions League three times, two of which were won during his time at AC Milan, including the 2006/07 Champions League final revenge on Liverpool. But in his eight seasons in charge of Milan, the eight titles he won were less impressive than the defeats of one Istanbul night. Falling from where, getting up from where you can get up, taking liverpool out for yourself in the Champions League final is the best way to do it. Not enough at one time? That's 2 times.
In fact, before this season, everyone may not have much hope for Ancelotti, because in Ann Fat's coaching career, being reversed seems to be the norm. In addition to Istanbul Night, he was also bloodied by A Coruña 4-0 in the second leg after winning 4-1 in the first leg of the 2003/04 Champions League quarterfinals. In the 1999/00 season before that, when he was in charge of Juve, he was also completed by Lazio with a nine-point lead in the remaining nine rounds of the league, and Perugia's torrential rain extinguished the dream of the first Serie A title in Ann Fat's career.
However, real Madrid have won a series of reversals in the Champions League this season, and while Benzema is the absolute protagonist, Ancelotti's platooning and on-the-spot reactions are also impressive. When the king of reversals has become the king of reversals, when the two kings of reversals meet in a narrow way, this Champions League final, which is full of stories, is already expected by everyone.