The crashing 0: 4 smack at Manchester City for once ended Real Madrid’s next Champions League dream prematurely this year. That in itself is not the end of the world, but the how raises questions. Among other things, with ex-national player Dietmar Hamann, who was hard on the royals after the game.
Rarely have Real Madrid been played against the wall in a Champions League semi-final like they did in the opening 45 minutes at Manchester’s Etihad Stadium. The fact that the score was only 0: 2 at the break was solely due to the brilliant Thibaut Courtois, who prevented further goals from being conceded with some brilliant saves.
After the change of sides, the premier class record winner got a little stronger, but the almost hopelessly inferior Madrilenians never had a real chance of progressing. And so ended after 90 minutes a performance that left ex-national player Dietmar Hamann speechless.
“They were destroyed,” Hamann made a harsh judgment on “Sky” about the non-performance of the royals, who in his eyes surrendered to their fate early on: “If you had offered them 60 minutes today to take a shower and If they could go home, they probably would have accepted it.”
“I’ve rarely seen that”
He never had the feeling that Real had “a spark of faith or hope,” added the TV expert, who recognized: “City finished the thing in second gear and was still superior.”
Overall, Hamann was shocked by the appearance of the highly praised Royal. “It was a class difference and I rarely saw that in the way and at this level in the semi-finals – where the first game was tight,” said the former professional.