Undervalued than Man City, but Real Madrid showed its class after 90 minutes of playing at the Bernabeu in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final on the morning of May 10.

The day before the great battle between Real Madrid and Man City, midfielder Bernardo Silva boldly declared: “Why should we be afraid of them?”.

Silva has his reasons. Real Madrid won’t always win the UEFA Champions League. However, there is an undeniable fact that there is always something very special about “Los Blancos” every time they play in the UEFA Champions League.

90 minutes at the Bernabeu ended with a 1-1 draw. Real Madrid has the right to regret, while Man City breathes a sigh of relief. Everything will now be decided at Etihad, where the home team is unbeaten since the match against Lyon on August 16, 2020, ie going through 17 games without losing.

“What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, stronger” is a passage from the song “Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)” by singer Kelly Clarkson. At the moment, Pep Guardiola’s Man City believes it.

However, following Carlo Ancelotti’s army to England next week are not only Karim Benzema, Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo Goes, Toni Kroos, Luka Modric or Fededrico Valverde …, but there are more “monsters” who have awakened. conscious.

Real Madrid fans still joke that there is always an invisible “monster” lurking behind the team and trespassers should not wake it up. From PSG, Chelsea to Man City, all paid the price to let that scary “monster” wake up.

The concept of “monster” here refers to the winning DNA, the unyielding spirit, the emotional explosion to create Real Madrid’s great performances in the Champions League. There is no exact definition here, but temporarily it is a response to the team’s difficulties.

“After the game, you would look at your teammates and say: ‘How can we do that?’,” former Real Madrid striker Predrag Mijatovic said of the club’s 1997/98 season. “Sometimes we don’t even know how that can happen. It’s like an incredible bond between the fans, the players and the club, to transform ourselves in the UEFA Champions League.”

More than two decades later, that reappears. In the Champions League season 2021/22, Real Madrid created incredible comebacks against PSG, Chelsea and Man City, and then ended the journey with the championship.

“Real Madrid’s squad has many historical elements – it’s a team that has won many titles with four Champions League titles in recent years. But, sometimes when the club has difficulties, they will need a catalyst to make it happen. wake up the sleeping giant. It could be anything,” Mijatovic analyzed.

“Meeting PSG, was it the mistake of (goalkeeper Gianluigi) Donnarumma or the wisdom of Karim Benzema. Just such a moment, the monster immediately awakens. This is like in the cartoon, no matter what. Anything can happen,” the former Real Madrid star continued.

The same thing happened against Chelsea last season. When Real played badly, the opponent led 3-0, but then only with a great assist from Modric and the monster woke up. That scared the opponent, not knowing what came next.

At the Bernabeu early this morning, the moment of “monster” awakening probably came from the quick coordination between Eduardo Camavinga and Luka Modric, followed by a dribble from home to the front of the Man City penalty area of the midfielder. French. And as it is often called, the rest is history.

Vinicius took advantage of a teammate’s ecstatic handling situation with an unstoppable long shot. Ederson’s attempt to fly only adds to the moment of the masterpiece created by Real Madrid.

Before Real Madrid opened the scoring, Man City was the better team when cornering opponents, holding the ball to more than 70%. However, “Los Blancos” is a collective of many experienced players, facing the pressure of a veteran type.

Those qualities of Real Madrid do not come naturally. It comes from the pressure that exists in the club’s decades-long history. At Real Madrid, the players are imbued with the philosophy of “always winning the Champions League”.

According to The Athletic, the legendary president Santiago Bernabeu was one of the main promoters, along with L’Equipe (France) sports editor Gabriel Hanot, in the founding of the Champions League. The old Madrid team including Alfredo Di Stefano, Ferenc Puskas and Paco Gento also won 5 trophies in the early days of this playground.

The concept that Real Madrid was born to conquer the Champions League also took shape over time. The sense of owning this trophy brings great pressure to all team members. There is nothing more painful than watching another name take the title of which “Los Blancos” has long been considered “a part of”.

“Anyone who’s ever played for Real Madrid knows that this is a complicated club, it’s very difficult to ‘survive’ here. When Real Madrid plays in the Champions League, everyone has to try their best.

This has a huge psychological impact on players. If they fail, they know they won’t be able to survive in the team,” Mijatovic said.

Jose Mourinho understands that best. Even taking the team to win La Liga season 2011/12 with a record number of points (100 points), that still does not satisfy all. Any coach, player or president who does not win the elephant ear trophy can be considered a failure.

Real Madrid can play badly in La Liga, but are not allowed to do that in the Champions League. Zinedine Zidane, Iker Casillas and Cristiano Ronaldo were each whistled by fans for the same reason. Winning the Champions League becomes a huge pressure, but it also pushes Real Madrid towards more success.

There, the players knew they had to play at the highest level every time this tournament’s anthem sounded. Camavinga used to be very good with good tactical vision, wisdom, perfect holding and passing skills, interception. However, he made his mark against Man City with an incredible dribble that led to the opening goal.

Camavinga probably understands that at Real Madrid, winning is not a success, it is an obligation. That gives him more motivation, pushes himself to create things beyond his limits. Thanks to these qualities of not only the French midfielder, but also others, Real Madrid has won more titles than any other team.