The Whites’ comeback came with the Madrid of the future on the pitch: Militao, Valverde, Camavinga, Vinicius, Rodrygo… Ancelotti: “The next Madrid is guaranteed”.
What we know at this point
Real Madrid got into a new European Cup final after another historic comeback, even more complicated than the previous ones in this edition of the continental tournament. Against PSG he turned the 1-0 first leg in the 90 minutes of regulation, against Chelsea he needed to reach extra time to make it 2-3 that earned him a pass to the semi-finals and against City, the triple somersault, with corkscrew included : two goals in 90′ and 91′ to stay alive and another one in extra time. City was a finalist and ended up buried by an incandescent Bernabeu and by a Madrid that, in addition, showed that its future is assured. Because the comeback came accompanied by a clear generational change, what Americans usually call a ‘coming of age’, the passage from adolescence to football maturity of several players who have meant a significant investment, one that at certain times is not he saw clearly, but now it is revealed to be correct. With this eleven Madrid formed when he scored the tie and 2-1, all in just over a minute: Courtois; Carvajal, Militao, Nacho, Mendy; Camavinga, Valverde; Rodrygo, Asensio, Vinicius; and Benzema.
Militao, the center of the 50 million
On defense, Mendy didn’t have his best day; The 48 million investment is highly justified on the defensive side , in which the Frenchman is unapproachable, but his performances with the ball are beginning to be worrying. In any case, the arrival of Rüdiger this summer will probably displace Alaba to the left, so it seems difficult for him to be undisputed at Real Madrid 2022-23. However, he can say that the comeback was thanks to him: he took Grealish’s 0-2 off the line, giving life to a drowning Madrid. The one who will be for sure is Militao, the central defender of the 50 million who started with doubts, who finished last year as a starter due to the circumstances to embroider him and who this season has risen as the defender that Madrid went to look for Porto. He was thriving in the duels (he won 8 of 16), recovered 6 balls and caused three fouls, appearing a lot in the attack, although he was unable to finish off. He was accompanied by the best possible version of Nacho , a veteran whose nickname “the one who always delivers” is tiny. And all of them, under the protective mantle of Courtois (29 years old, mature age for a goalkeeper), who closed the door on Grealish on another clear occasion for 0-2.