Real Madrid did the impossible last night.
The Spanish giants were minutes away from being eliminated from the Champions League by Manchester City only to score twice in the final minutes of the game to take it to extra-time.
Riyad Mahrez’s 73rd minute goal had put City two goals clear at the Santiago Bernabeu only for a brace from Rodrygo Goes in the 90th and 91st minutes to draw the two sides level on aggregate.
Then, in extra time, Karim Benzema stepped up to win it for Madrid with a calmly taken penalty. After that, all hell broke loose at the Bernabeu as Madrid secured their place in Paris.
That’s where they’ll face Liverpool in the Champions League final on May 28th. The game will take place at the Stade de France.
And a former Liverpool player has a theory as to why Pep Guardiola’s City crumbled at the crucial moment at the Bernabeu and failed to rally sufficiently when the going got tough.
That would be former German international Didi Hamann, who quote-tweeted football journalist Miguel Delaney’s article breaking down the game. Hamann was quite critical of Guardiola.
“If you give players responsibility they act responsible,” he said. “If you try to play the game for them they won’t. Guardiola suffocates teams and players to make their own decisions. Compare that to [Carlo] Ancelotti or [Jurgen] Klopp’s teams.”
If you give players responsibility they act responsible. If you try to play the game for them they won’t. Guardiola suffocates teams and players to make their own decisions. Compare that to Ancelottis or Klopps teams https://t.co/xhNvBlx42a
— Didi Hamann (@DietmarHamann) May 5, 2022
