Real Madrid are favorites for the second leg of the Champions League round of 16 after beating Liverpool 5-2. Nevertheless, the Champions League record winner feels the starting position as treacherous.
Even during his time at FC Bayern, the way the Maestro showed himself with his facial expressions was a trademark. Carlo Ancelotti, back in the service of Real Madrid since 2021, has changed little. One eyebrow is always raised, the other looks glued on. In addition, his lower jaw moves, which works on one chewing gum after the other.
A new one is needed every six or seven minutes. Dealing with stress for a football teacher who has actually achieved everything and experienced so much. And yet this coach does not want to give up. The 63-year-old can’t even relax after the very formidable 5-2 thrashing in the shimmering Champions League round of 16 at Liverpool FC, perhaps the most spectacular game in the current competition. For the second leg at home in their own Bernabeu (Wednesday 9 p.m.), the warning finger almost went all the way up again.
Carlo Ancelotti laid the foundation himself in 2014
“The game against Liverpool is treacherous for us”said Ancelotti at the weekend after a 100th league win in the 139th match with the royal team. “We have an advantage, but we have to go full throttle for 90 minutes. The Champions League is the most complicated competition in the world.” But this club has specialized in this despite all the personal skinning. Again and again Real takes the lead, again and again the Madrilenians lift the handle pot.
Last year, after a final overshadowed by scandalous incidents at the Stade de France, against the long-superior Liverpool (1-0). So it was again the meekly smiling Ancelotti who received the congratulations of snarling colleague Jürgen Klopp. In the knockout round, his eleven had managed one tour de force after the other. Ancelotti himself laid the foundation for a hegemony that is unparalleled in modern football back in 2014. Even if he had to go in 2015 – rival FC Barcelona triumphed in Berlin – he has long since continued the era.
Sergio Ramos and Cristiano Ronaldo’s gaps have long been closed
Since then, this team has won five out of a possible nine titles, for which Sergio Ramos and Cristiano Ronaldo led the way for many years. Under Zinedine Zidane, who started out as an assistant to Ancelotti, they exemplified a will to win that continues to characterize every European night to this day. As is well known, Ramos and Ronaldo are history at Real, and players like David Alaba and Vinicius Junior have long been the ones who make the difference in front and behind. Alaba can otherwise rely on his neighbor Antonio Rüdiger, Vinicius has one of the best scorers at his side in Karim Benzema. Incidentally, Europe’s Footballer of the Year.
In midfield, Luka Modric and Toni Kroos are still the same protagonists, and Casemiro had their backs until last summer. Real still has a lot of class in all parts of the team, even if FC Barcelona is heading for the championship again this season. But how well this team still plays under pressure could be seen at Anfield three weeks ago. Klopp’s team started like firefighters, took a 2-0 lead, but then the race to catch up started in the wild 90 minutes, which Real has made a trademark.
The statistics clearly speak for Real
Otherwise the “still magic“, the magical nights always only performed in the Bernabeu, against Paris St. Germain, against Chelsea and against Manchester City, Real almost announced all the games from the round of 16 to the semifinals in the previous season in a similar way. Maybe that’s the reason Three-goal lead now the problem?
It’s not impossible, because the MadridistaThe community has not forgotten how Ajax Amsterdam actually managed the unimaginable four years ago: chasing Real 4-1 in the cult site from the courtyard. The Dutch only lost the first leg 2-1. But not even Klopp can be carried away to a declaration of war: “It’s a big game without question.” After a season full of setbacks and setbacks, the self-image of his team has noticeably cracked, the opponent has been ripped off to the max. And so the statistics also speak for the record champion: No team has turned a three-goal deficit away from home in this competition.