Wednesday night’s Champions League clash will go down as one of the most remarkable in recent history as Real Madrid pulled off a dramatic comeback to beat Manchester City and reach the final in Paris.
City were ahead 4-3 going into the second leg and looked to have sealed their place in the final after adding to their advantage at the Bernabeu through Riyad Mahrez in the second half. However, a ludicrous two minutes inside stoppage time saw substitute Rodrygo score twice before Karim Benzema's extra-time penalty sent Real through with a 6-5 aggregate victory.
In the BT studio following Madrid’s success, pundit Rio Ferdinand was full of praise for manager Carlo Ancelotti, calling him “incredible”.
Ancelotti made history last weekend after his La Liga success saw him become the first manager to win the title in Europe's top five leagues. And now after Wednesday night’s win, he’ll have the opportunity to become the first manager to win the Champions League /European Cup four times, moving clear of Liverpool's Bob Paisley and Real's Zinedine Zidane.
“Carlo Ancelotti, we talk about the great managers of the modern era, he has to be in the mix to be at the top of that tree. What he has been doing, it’s incredible,” said Ferdinand. "The substitutions (Ancelotti made), Rodrygo and Eduardo Camavinga especially, wow. Phenomenal substitutions that impacted the game.”
With the tie drifting away from Madrid, Ancelotti turned to Camavinga and winger Marco Asensio, replacing key veterans Luka Modric and Casemiro. That move came shortly after he’d already taken off the reliable Toni Kroos for young attacker Rodrygo.
The changes saw Madrid effectively push another player in attack, shifting from the 4-3-3 they started the game in to something that better resembled a 4-2-4. Although he had just Fede Valverde for support, Camavinga quickly began to dominate the middle of the pitch.
He was composed, energetic and put in a display way beyond what you’d expect from a teenager, even one as highly rated as he is. The Frenchman finished the game having successfully completed 22/26 passes and having made the second-highest number of tackles for any Madrid player.
The 19-year-old also played an instrumental role in getting Madrid back in the game. It was his deep cross that was hooked back across goal by Benzema for Rodrygo to score the first goal.
Rodrygo was then on target again one minute later, heading home Dani Carvajal’s cross. The substitute nearly got a remarkable third a few seconds later, denied one on one by Ederson.
While still just 21, Rodrygo is quickly developing a knack for scoring key goals in crucial moments. He now boasts six in his last six matches across all competitions, including one against Chelsea in the Champions League and two against Espanyol on Saturday which sealed the La Liga title.
This is a trait Ancelotti can clearly see in the youngster, and his decision to call upon both him and Camavinga can be considered as decisive moments that helped turned this tie on its head.
