At the end of Real Madrid’s 4-4 draw with Real Sociedad last week, Carlo Ancelotti was asked whether there had been any point at which he feared for their place in the Copa del Rey final. He had watched his team go 1-0, 3-1 and 4-3 down, the game heading into extra time before Antonio Rüdiger’s goal after midnight finally gave them a 4-4 draw, allowing them to scrape through 5-4 on aggregate. But still he said no.
“Because,” he reasoned, “anything can happen here.” And that, you couldn’t help wondering, may be precisely the problem. One day, anything would not happen, and then what?
