The two most recent conquests of real Madrid To himin Champions They came after the hardest path possible. The rivalry against the champions of the French, Italian and German leagues before the ‘thirteenth’ in kyiv. PSG, a Chelsea defending the European crown and Manchester City before the ‘fourteenth’ in Paris. The request is repeated towards Wembley. And so are returns and a safety exercise at the Etihad.
Real Madrid entered the 2023-24 Champions League final without a single defeat. Not vague. Full of wins in the group stage. Four consecutive ties in the playoffs. An overconfidence against Leipzig. An example of overcoming to dethrone the City of Manchester. A new return can only carry its signature before the Bayern Munich.
A total of 26 goals were scored – nine more than their rivals Borussia Dortmund– and 15 against -six more than the German team-. Eight wins and four draws. Eight scorers. Brazilians Vinicius and Rodrygo with revelation Joselu Mato the most productive with five targets each. Four of English Jude Bellingham in his first Champions League as a Real Madrid player. Two goals from Brahim Diaz. One of Fede Valverde, Dani Ceballos and Nico Paz. And two own goals from rivals. Because the pass is loose in the second round Carlo Ancelotti He even managed to pull the quarry.
Power in the group stage
The competition began to fight harder than its debut expected. Against a debutant like him Union Berlin. At the Santiago Bernabéu. Without Vinicius. With more soul than football and a player in a state of grace who has scored in every game since his debut. Bellingham came to the rescue on the first day, taking gold in the 94th minute off Fede Valverde’s powerful shot and the rebound from the opposing defense (1-0).
The first blow to the table will come on the second day. In the house of the eternal Diego Maradona, where the Naples He is already showing signs that he is far from the cheerful image that led him to success a few months earlier in the Italian League. Despite starting to lose due to an error with a high kick by Kepa Arrizabalaga, within seven minutes they turned the game around with goals from ‘Vini’ and Bellingham, with a final own goal from Meret giving victory (2-3).
Jude’s scoring streak was extended to the third day, in Panties, where the Brazilian Rodrygo Goes broke his first drought of the course, of eleven games without scoring (1-2). In one hour the rivalry was settled and the plenary session brought the round of 16 closer to the first minute of change.
Both duels at the Bernabéu were resolved by Real Madrid with the pace Brahim imposed on a particular claim. When he started to shine because of Bellingham’s shoulder injury. Scoring and directing the most peaceful victory of the season in the Champions League (3-0), with goals from the Brazilian couple Vinicius-Rodrygo.
This allowed him to face the conflict with absolute calm in which he sealed the command, with eight casualties, returning again from Naples, in a display of command of Toni Kroos. With Bellingham surpassing its best scoring records and going into the game tied at 2-2, it found itself on a long-range shot from a youth player, Nico Pazand Joselu’s added goal in the end (4-2).
With everything resolved, Real Madrid finished the group stage, showing the highest respect for the competition. Back for the third time and fought for victory until the last minute of the match at home to Union Berlin, finding them a goal in the 89th minute of Dani Ceballos which gave an absolute victory for the third time in its history.
Very confident in the round of 16
Real Madrid played with fire against Leipzig, their passage to the round of 16, after winning the first leg in Germany, with nine stops Andriy Lunin to bury the pulse in Kepaand a great goal from Brahim that fueled the debate with Rodrygo (0-1).
In return, the lack of attitude of his first act, the doubts, reached his worst game of the season in the competition. From an incorrect strategy by Ancelotti, Real Madrid came out to defend their advantage, flexing their muscle in the middle of the field by combining. Tchouaméni and Camavingaloss of offensive presence and showing defensive doubts led to a loss of identity that put him on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
He was lower in the tie, but he was saved by Brahim’s blow in the first leg and Vinicius in the second leg. With the luck factor on his side, the crossbar made a last-gasp save on a chipped ball from Dani Olmo.
Total misery against City
The suffering on their way to the final will be heightened by the vagaries of the quarterfinal draw. Again the City of Manchester heading into the third year in a row. In a spectacular duel of blows to Bernabeuborn with overconfidence as Lunin blocked Bernardo Silva’s long-range free kick before the second minute of the match was over.
Madrid’s epic reappears in Santiago Bernabeu who left the exhibition of Kevin de Bruyne. Real Madrid rose from the canvas twice, responding to blows with the composure of a man who feels like the king of the competition. The three-way tie marked by Fede Valverde He left everything open for the Etihad battle.
Where there was a real exercise of the resistance of the white team, subdued from their only arrival at the goal of Rodrygo. Survived a siege from City who, after De Bruyne’s goal, handed the crown to a penalty shootout in which there was also room for a white comeback. After the failure of Luka Modric in the first launch, the decisive stop of Luna in Bernard Silva and Kovacic They scored a shootout that decided goals from defenders like Lucas Vázquez, Nacho and Rüdiger.
The European classic
From the champions of England and Europe, Real Madrid went to Germany, ending its dominance in Bundesliga capping the best campaign in Bayer Leverkusen’s history with Xabi Alonso in charge. He Bayern Munich He played all on one card in the Champions League and put Ancelotti’s team in serious trouble.
Graceful again after a dose of suffering Allianz, where the deadly version of Vinicius with a decisive double to stop the reaction of German pride. In five minutes the goals of get well and right A penalty turned the game around before ‘Vini’ extinguished the Munich inferno.
Within Santiago Bernabeu, when they were on the brink of elimination, that strange gene reappeared in Real Madrid’s European Cup. Three magical minutes. The dream moment of a career in secondary school as Joselu, between 88 and 91, they gave the return to an irreducible team that saved the goal of Davies with the speed of Vinicius to find the ‘fifteenth’ at Wembley.
Real Madrid’s 2023-24 Champions League
GROUP STAGE
09/20/23 R. Madrid 1 – Union Berlin 0
03.10.23 Naples 2 – R. Madrid 3
24.10.231 Braga 1 – R. Madrid 2
08.11.23 R. Madrid 3 – Braga 0
29.11.23 R. Madrid 4 – Naples 2
12.12.23 Union Berlin 2 – R. Madrid 3
EIGHTH FINALS
13.02.24 Leipzig 0 – Real Madrid 1
06.03.24 R. Madrid 1 – Leipzig 1
QUARTER FINALS
09.04.24 R. Madrid 3 – ManCity 3
17.04.24 ManCity 1 – R. Madrid 1 (3-4 on penalties)
SEMI-FINALS
30.04.24 Bayern 2 – Real Madrid 2
08.05.24 Real Madrid 2 – Bayern 1
The
THE END
The
01.06.24 Dortmund-R. Madrid (?)
Source: La Verdad
I am Shawn Partain, a journalist and content creator working for the Today Times Live. I specialize in sports journalism, writing articles that cover major sporting events and news stories. With a passion for storytelling and an eye for detail, I strive to be accurate and insightful in my work.
