Peter Schmeichel was scathing of Real Madrid this week, suggesting Carlo Ancelotti's men had "no right’’ securing a spot in this season’s Champions League final. In a dramatic semi-final second leg, substitute Rodrygo scored two goals in two stoppage-time minutes to bring the game level at 5-5 on aggregate.
Karim Benzema slotted home the winner from the penalty spot in extra time after drawing a foul from Ruben Dias, and his side held on from there to secure the most unlikely of victories.
On CBS Sports post-match, Schmeichel didn’t hold back, labelling Madrid "the poorest team by a mile" over the two games. He said: "The first chance was the first goal in the 90th minute, the second goal was the second chance and the third goal was the third time they hit the target. Real Madrid have got no right to be in that final. They were the poorest team by a mile over the two games.
"Man City were in full control but it's that one moment we talked about that. We talked about how that stadium in there could be the 12th man. When they started that second half, that chance after just eight seconds it was like they set the whole place on fire and it was just unbelievable. I feel a little bit sorry for Manchester City, I have to say that because I thought apart from that goal in the 90th minute they played really well, they had everything under control.
"But I mean my God! Real Madrid, where does that come from? I have absolutely no idea." He continued by stating "They were so poor. Only the game at Chelsea was good. I don't understand anything about football anymore."
Schmeichel's criticism may at first glance seem harsh, with many others in the wake of their victory opting to praise the La Liga champions' spirit and resilience. However, Schmeichel's comments aren't without merit. Not only were Madrid largely second best for much of the tie against Manchester City, but it’d also be fair to say that they were outperformed by both PSG and Chelsea for large stages too.
This point can be captured by looking at their Expected Goals (xG) numbers from the knockout phase of the competition so far. xG is a good tool for measuring the quality of performances beyond the result alone. A higher xG for means more high-quality chances created, whereas a low xG means fewer quality chances created.
Across their six knockout matches, Real Madrid accumulated an xG of 7.8 minus penalties according to @Caley_graphics, but scored 14 goals. That’s a substantial overperformance, especially over only six matches. They achieved the same thanks to some good finishing, namely from Benzema, but also plenty of fortune too, for example scoring two goals from their only two shots on target in the 90 minutes against City on Wednesday night.
For comparison, fellow finalists Liverpool have scored 13 knockout goals from an xG of roughly 12.8 so far, indicating they’ve been more deserving of their victories based on the chances they created.
The above xG numbers align with what we’ve witnessed watching Madrid in the knockout phase of the competition this season, this being they’ve been the inferior side across all three ties. However in many ways, that's now an idle point. They’re 90 minutes away from being crowned Champions of Europe again, and if they achieve that feat, the history books won’t scrutinise how they did it.
