You could tell it from the two banks of four. You could tell it from Geronimo Rulli’s panicked punches and shanked goal kicks. You could tell from the way that right from the kick-off, the yellow submarine was submerged. This was the semi-finals of the Champions League – one stop before the ultimate pinnacle of the sport – but even the unlikely semi-finalists themselves expected it to be an outright mismatch.
In one corner, six European Cups, a manager who will be remembered among the greatest of his generation and possibly the most feared forward line in world football. In the other, an organised team that had scalped Juventus and Bayern Munich and therefore could not be underestimated, but one that finished seventh in La Liga last season and remains seventh today.
