- Dylan O'Connell
- Sat, May 28 2022
Dylan O’Connell reports from Paris
Never has a team come into a Champions League final with such a feeling of destiny surrounding them.
Real Madrid, the 13 time winners of the most prestigious tournament in world football, have arrived in Paris seeking the perfect ending to their remarkable European campaign.
In the last 16 against PSG, Karim Benzema scored a second half hat-trick to overturn a 2-0 deficit. The quarter finals saw Madrid squander a two goal lead against Chelsea, but they rebounded in extra-time to win the tie 5-4 on aggregate.
Manchester City in the semi-finals had a two goal cushion until the 90th minute, then Rodrygo and Benzema scored.
This all came on the back of an unforgettable season domestically for Los Blancos, which has seen them win La Liga and the Supercopa de España. Madrid’s never day die attitude in Europe combined with their domestic domination has fuelled this feeling of destiny in Paris.
“We’re very excited,” goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois summed everything up on Friday afternoon when he spoke to the media at the Stade de France. “We had a brilliant season and we deserve to be here.”
Despite wider feelings surrounding the squad, the Belgian international remains grounded over his previous experiences in the competition.
“I played in the Champions League final for the first time eight years ago and I did not win that final. We all want win to win and make history for Real Madrid,” Courtois added.
That night in 2014 Lisbon played host to one of the most famous finals in the history of the Champions League. Real Madrid faced cross town rivals Atlético Madrid (with Courtois in goal for Atleti) who went 1-0 up through Diego Godín.
In the last second of injury time, a corner ball was headed in by Sergio Ramos and in extra-time, Gareth Bale, Marcelo, and Cristiano Ronaldo scored to give Madrid their tenth European Cup win.
The only member of the forward line who didn’t find the net that night was Karim Benzema. He was subbed off in the 79th minute and eight years later, he has a point to prove.
His goals have willed Real through the competition this year and he has his eyes firmly on the trophy. The squad are well aware of the abilities and what he has done for the club this year.
“We know about the quality that Karim Benzema has and he is having an amazing season,” Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti said. The Italian coach, who has lifted the trophy three times as a manager, knows that this is a squad game.
Whatever feeling of destiny surrounds their Champions League journey, the Italian remains grounded going into Saturday’s final.
“Getting to this final is a big success for us,” he explained. “We know how important this competition is to us. It has been a big feat to get to this point. I think we’ve had a very good season and we are very close to achieving something huge.”
Given the circus surrounding the club and the final, Ancelotti wants everyone to relax and focus on the task at hand. “We are very calm in the camp. We have a good atmosphere around the squad with a lot of excitement and confidence.”
