Football is a game that plays tricks on the mind. It offers narrative paths that you think you’ve seen before and then, just as you think you know the destination, turns off on a different route. Real Madrid against Manchester City was billed as the final before the final, and lived up to that billing for quality, both of the play and the two goals. And it was tight, a 1–1 draw that leaves the semifinal to be settled in the second leg next week.
And yet it didn’t look it would be tight, at least at the start. But then that in itself is not uncommon. The first half felt very familiar. There was City dominating possession, playing in neat filigrees, always probing, always working the opposition, grinding it slowly down by process of attrition. And there was Madrid resisting, holding out, often not looking particularly good, but never panicking. The self-belief that carried it to the title last season remains as unshakeable as ever.
IMAGO/Lagencia
