Real Madrid: Ranking the 5 best games of Carlo Ancelotti’s first term
1. 4-0 win vs Bayern Munich at Allianz Arena, 2013/14 Champions League semi-finals
La Decima night is definitely the most important moment of Carlo Ancelotti’s Real Madrid career. But his best game was the one before the final. A 4-0 thrashing of Pep Guardiola’s Bayern Munich, at their own home.
Real Madrid had won the first leg at Bernabeu by 1-0, which gave them an advantage. But to survive for 90 minutes at the Allianz Arena, against the defending champions of the competition was a difficult task. But Real Madrid made the task look so easy, as they went on to humiliate the team managed by a person who once coached their eternal rivals Barcelona, and was seen as the best manager at that moment.
Real Madrid would start with a flourish, as Sergio Ramos scored two magnificent headers off set-pieces within the space of four minutes, which pushed the aggregate scoreline to 3-0. Bayern Munich needed 4 goals to progress to a third consecutive final, but it was an impossible task against such a determined and well-organized Real Madrid side.
Carlo Ancelotti would anticipate the attacking pressure from Bayern after that moment, as Real Madrid shifted into a defensive mode, and looked to hit the Bavarians on the break. Real Madrid would go onto capitalise on Bayern’s desperation, as Cristiano Ronaldo would make it 3-0 after a wonderful flowing counterattack from the BBC in the 34th minute.
Bayern was already out of the competition, and they had to bow down to Carlo Ancelotti’s men. But the relentless whites wouldn’t calm down, and Cristiano Ronaldo completed the perfect night with a perfect freekick in the 90th minute. His under-the-wall free-kick stunned Manuel Neuer, as it rounded off a great night in Germany.
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Real Madrid would progress to the finals, and Carlo Ancelotti would claim the best win of his Real Madrid career. A final win would always be the best game for a manager, but this semifinal win is very very special for Don Carlo, as his men replied to those critics, who had written them off before the tie, in a perfect way.