The giant ceased to exist. If it ever existed. The giant built on the basis of an endless economic fortune, capable of bringing together Mbappé, Messi and Neymar in a single attack and not winning a single Champions League, collapsed at the Bernabéu. The fall was so resounding that it will be studied in a few years to verify the true causes, although, perhaps, everything will be simpler.
The irrationality of football dismantled the supposed strength of money, overshadowing the stars who will never forget such a night. For Leo, for example, the demons he suffered at Anfield were removed, while Ney discovered that he went to Paris in search of glory and ran into footballing misery. Mbappé did not understand anything. He was in the place where he shouldn’t be. He scored a goal and had two canceled without understanding the magnitude of the depression.
“The shirt, the shield, the stadium, the team… That prevented us from giving up. It was a magical night, the second half was anthological. The team had a lot of personality”, declared Emilio Butragueño, director of institutional relations from Madrid.
And chaos came
March 9, 2022. The night that Paris SG learned that Europe is forbidden territory due to the clumsiness of their goalkeeper, Donnarumma got tangled up with his feet, and the inefficiency of his trio of geniuses up front. Messi quietly left the lawn. Like Mbappe. Like Neymar.
Devoured all three by that tremendous mistake by the Paris SG goalkeeper, the prologue to those maddening minutes in which he starred in a historic collapse. He survived in Paris. Madrid survived in the first part of the Bernabéu. And then the chaos. In 17 minutes, three goals from Benzeman certified the death of the Parisian team. And who knows about that project that has been seen to be unable to impose its hegemony beyond France. Sometimes, not even in his country. Pochettino was, and will be, the easiest fuse to liquidate, but that will not be enough because not even 1,000 million euros in signings is enough for PSG to cling to the European crown.
“It’s not a mistake, it’s pressure”
“This victory is for them, we needed our fans, we deserved it. We lost in the first leg, we lost 0-1 at the break, but these fans pushed us to give everything,” said Benzema, the author of the three white goals. , trying to explain with words what has no explanation.
“That pressure that we had trained all week came out in the first goal and the match changed completely, with the atmosphere of the stadium”
Ancelotti, Madrid coach
“Mental strength has been key. It’s not Donnarumma’s mistake, it’s the pressure of the whole team,” argued the French striker, chosen, of course, as the best player of the match in which he collapsed who wanted to be the new order of European football.
“It was a spectacular night, but we suffered in the first half. We risked a bit going one on one with Mbappé”, Ancelotti revealed. “That pressure that we had trained all week came out in the first goal and the game totally changed, with the atmosphere of the stadium,” acknowledged the Italian coach.
“Each match is a final for us. We have shown that Madrid is alive”
Benzema, captain of Madrid
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“Each match is a final for us. We have shown that Madrid is alive”, underlined Benzema, capable of outshining his compatriot Mbappé, the beacon of a team without any soul, trapped by that irrationality that took him away. To him, to Messi, disappeared in the minutes after the 1-1, to Neymar, not a trace of that Brazilian who left the Camp Nou to be the owner of the world throne and no longer appear in the list of the 10 best.
The ashes of PSG remained forever at the Bernabéu, a team that was never a true team. And it ended up being a drama.