Real Madrid: It seems winning the UEFA Champions League is difficult
On Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, we witnessed what was probably the two best UEFA Champions League matches in history as Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur were able to book their places in the final of the competition against all odds.
As Liverpool entered the second-leg with a three-goal deficit, barely anyone fancied them to perform a miracle at Anfield. They came out and did exactly that, winning the match 4-0 to book their ticket to Madrid and sending Lionel Messi and FC Barcelona packing.
Only 24 hours later, Tottenham found themselves going into the second half with a three goal deficit in Amsterdam against Ajax, but came back somehow through three goals from Lucas Moura to win the game and the tie overall as they confirmed an all-English final.
While watching those matches, you realize one thing: Real Madrid was able to win the UEFA Champions League three times in a row and people made it seem like it was not an achievement that should be celebrated for many years to come.
Real Madrid made this feel normal to a certain extent when it is anything but. Liverpool made it to the final of the competition for the second time in a row and people are congratulating them for it.
As much as they deserve the plaudits, Los Merengues won this tournament three times in a row and four times in five years, yet it is ignored and that in itself could be seen as the curse of Real Madrid.
Los Blancos always strive to win, they will always search for greatness no matter what happens on the way there. Failure leads to panic and we have seen it in abundance this season.
Real Madrid don’t know what it feels like to fail and their recent successes have been so great that it practically covered all the failures elsewhere. As they find themselves coming down from a high this season, many have realized that what the club has done in the past three years cannot be ignored and won’t happen ever again.
Zinedine Zidane has admitted that La Liga is the most important trophy next season for him and that’s fair, but even though the league is an accumulation of how a club does over the course of the season in comparison to other clubs, the UEFA Champions League is always going to be the most difficult one to win.
Consistency, determination, and sometimes even tactics simply do not make a difference at times as your opponents fight with everything they’ve got which is exactly what we saw in the match between Ajax and Tottenham.
Recent wins and successes go out the window as a well-thought out match plan and an opponent that seems to have all their weaknesses exploited are what make a historical night as we have seen at Anfield when Liverpool defeated Barcelona 4-0.
Football is not predictable and football doesn’t care about who may or may not deserve something and who is better than the other. Football cares about one thing and one thing only: Results.
Real Madrid got the results and were able to beat all the teams that came their way over the past three years as they got through against Bayern Munich, Juventus, Atletico Madrid, Liverpool, and others to have their name written on the trophy.
Next. Dortmund hold on to Real Madrid loanee Achraf Hakimi. dark
Los Merengues have created history and this season has shown just how difficult and unpredictable it is when you play in the UEFA Champions League. Real Madrid made it look easy and normal but they have raised the bar so high that no one will be able to reach it and their names will forever be etched into the history books.
As you get through the hangover of what we have witnessed over the past two nights, ask yourself one question: How did Real Madrid win this competition three times in a row?