Real Madrid's amazing Anfield comeback is no shock – Los Blancos are 'never dead' in Europe
The European champions came from 2-0 down to beat Liverpool 5-2 in an incredible match on Tuesday night, but we shouldn't be surprised...
Real Madrid have done it again. Two goals down after 14 minutes against Liverpool at Anfield, the European champions were on the ropes. But they had been here before. Many times. What followed was incredible, yet not at all surprising. They won 5-2.
Last season, epic comebacks were a recurring theme of Real’s run to a 14th European Cup: they did it against Paris Saint-Germain in the last 16; they did it against Chelsea in the quarter-finals; and they did it against Manchester City in the semis.
Against PSG, Madrid had been 2-0 down in the tie with 30 minutes of the 180 left. They then needed a late Rodrygo goal to force extra time in the tie versus Chelsea, before scoring again in the additional 30 minutes. And across the two legs with City, they had been 3-1, 4-2 and 5-3 down. Going into the final minute of the second match, Carlo Ancelotti’s side still were 5-3 behind, yet they won.
After that first match, Madrid had celebrated their 4-3 defeat in Manchester as if it were a win. It felt like one. They had somehow stayed in the tie against a dominant City and even Pep Guardiola feared what was coming next. “If there is one team that can turn it around, it’s Real Madrid,” he warned. And he was right.
No comeback was required in the final against Liverpool, but Madrid had been under intense pressure in Paris prior to Vinícius Júnior’s winner against the Reds in May. So Jürgen Klopp’s side knew what to expect on Tuesday night. At 2-0 up, they must have felt relief. It is sometimes said that 2-0 is the most dangerous scoreline. Here, that turned out to be true. In reality, though, they were up against the most dangerous opponent.
In an interview in the build-up to Tuesday’s first leg, midfielder Eduardo Camavinga told Sid Lowe of The Guardian: “People think Madrid are dead. But Madrid are never, never dead.” And former Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde, now in charge at Athletic Club, recently said: “The moment when you think you’re closest to beating Real Madrid is the moment you’re closest to losing to them.”
Valverde’s Barcelona took a 3-0 lead to Anfield in the 2018-19 Champions League semi-finals and then threw it away in a 4-0 defeat. Barça crumbled under pressure and were unable to net even once that night. On Tuesday, Madrid scored five at the same stadium. And although this is a much weaker Liverpool team than the 2019 version, that mentality has been the difference between Spain’s top two teams in European competition over the past few years.
On Tuesday, Madrid went behind to an early Darwin Núñez flick and found themselves 2-0 down following an uncharacteristic error by goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, who miscontrolled a pass and saw the ball bounce off his knee to allow Mohamed Salah to score.
It was the type of thing that happens to Real Madrid’s opponents in Europe, not to Real Madrid. And later, it did happen to their opponents as Alisson Becker kicked a ball straight at Vinícius and saw it rebound into the back of the net. The Brazilian’s name goes onto a list of goalkeepers (Sven Ulreich, Loris Karius, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Edouard Mendy) whose errors have contributed to Los Blancos’ European victories in recent years. Courtois’ mistake, meanwhile, is likely to be forgotten. “It invited us to react,” the Belgian said. And he wasn’t even joking.
Last year, Guardiola privately commented that it was difficult to prepare a tie against Madrid because “something always happens”. Most of Europe’s elite clubs have found that out to their cost in the Champions League, especially over the past decade. The tie is seemingly under their control, but suddenly slips from their grasp.
So how do Real Madrid do it? How to they keep doing it?
Above all, it is mentality. While it helps to have some of the world’s finest footballers in their XI, that alone is insufficient. Those players need to be able to perform when it matters most. Under Zinédine Zidane and now Ancelotti, Madrid are able to embrace the chaos, stay calm and produce magnificent moments in conditions of extreme adversity. And yes, part of that is transferring the pressure onto opponents. And part of it is also luck. But that luck usually arrives because Madrid know what to do, because they have been here before. Time and time and time again.
“We never lost control,” Ancelotti said after the match. “It’s the mental quality of this team, of these players: the veterans are there to teach the young [ones] calm and quiet.” Veteranos y noveles, as Madrid’s official anthem says. Veterans and novices (although in this case the latter are among the best young players in the world).
Tuesday night’s exhibition at Anfield was a blend of those two: older heads Karim Benzema and Luka Modrić brought cool, calm and composure along with technique and pausa; youngsters Vinícius, Rodrygo, Camavinga and Fede Valverde provided pace, precociousness, explosivity, drive and decisiveness. “Right now, Vinícius is the most decisive player in world football,” Ancelotti said after the match.
It is a formula for success, but it only works with the right mentality. “The king of Europe is a wizard,” Spanish sports paper Marca said. And in Italy, La Gazzetta dello Sport noted: “Madrid never die.”
In European competition, Los Blancos have it down to a fine art. It may only be the last 16, but odds on another Champions League crown have been slashed after last night’s epic encounter at Anfield. Continental champions in 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2022, surely they couldn’t do it again this time, could they? Whatever the circumstances, remember what Camavinga said: Real Madrid are never, never dead.
A very nice written content!
I love to see things like this, about the team I support.
Beautiful and extraordinary! As Madrid fan, this is one of the most impressing pieces of eulogies I’ve ever read. Besides the praises, the linguistic prowess and rhetoric dexterity are unrivaled. I like the way you maneuver with to e words here.