The situation
The return semi-final of Real Madrid against Manchester City is a ton of emotions. I would like to say something powerful about Madrid, which they presented to them. But I will say something ambiguous – it will be both a compliment and criticism at the same time. In advance: congratulations to the Real Madrid fans! A magical evening for you, and I hope you will get to Lent only in the morning, when emotions subside a little. The only time in the whole season that Real Madrid had a clearly better starting plan in a top match than their opponents was in the first quarter-final against Chelsea. After that meeting, Carlo Ancelotti rightly boasted of a hybrid scheme and a personal task for Fede Valverde: “Our scheme was not so different from the usual one. The difference was that Valverde focused on the opponent’s left lateral. This gave Carvajal the opportunity to play in a more central position – to hold back Pulisic or Mount. Valverde did a very good job. Sometimes it felt like we were defending with a five.” Such finds for Madrid this season are rare – as well as victories without a dramatic plot. And still they are in the Champions League final – in some way. Yes, yes, not without luck, but almost every time before killing an opponent in “their” segment, they organized a turning point in the game. In the round of 16 against PSG, Ancelotti gave the team energy to press. “Replacements have played an important role. It was after them that we managed to turn the tide of the match. The freshness of Camaving and Rodrigo helped us. It’s not so much about tactics, but about the energy they gave to the team.
Important details
The opponent, on the contrary, was exhausted by that moment, ”Carlo summed up then. Madrid scored three goals in the last half hour and dominated after substitutions – 11:1 on shots (7:0 on shots from the box). In the quarter-finals against Chelsea, the goals were born from the skill of geniuses (perhaps the least explainable pass without a clear break), but even here there is an important aspect – flashes of genius were preceded by episodes of counter-pressing. Real Madrid took risks, and the ball that brought Real Madrid back into the game was scored by the miracle joker Rodrigo. Here Ancelotti, saving the match, rebuilt the entire center of the field: Casemiro, Modric, Kroos left, and instead of them, a hyper-open combination of Camavinga, Asensio, Valverde played out. This was superimposed on the failed idea of Pep Guardiola – to release Fernandinho and finish the game with two clean defensive midfielders. “City” clung and was punished. There is an inexplicable element in the effectiveness of this punishment, but the prerequisites were formed by replacements of coaches. Classic Madrid. There was also a match with Inter in the group that fits perfectly into the trend and a bunch of matches in La Liga (the most striking is a fresh comeback against Sevilla). The real superpower of Real Madrid is to drag the opponent into chaos. Real Madrid are the kings of chaos. Ancelotti understands this and makes substitutions that loosen the drawing, but loosen it in both directions.