Real Madrid produced yet another historic moment in this year’s Champions League by progressing into the final of the competition with a late comeback and Arsene Wenger was not surprised by their latest "miracle".
Madrid somehow managed to force extra time against Manchester City despite being 5-3 down on aggregate with six minutes to play. Brazilian winger Rodrygo popped up with two goals in two minutes after Riyad Mahrez had appeared to put the game to bed with a fierce strike in the 73rd minute.
Karim Benzema then turned the tie on its head in the 95th minute, coolly converting from the penalty spot. The Frenchman was brought down by Ruben Dias leaving the referee with no decision but to point to the spot, and Madrid held on to secure a stunning comeback.
But the result won’t come as too much of a surprise to Wenger, who said before kick-off that they had performed a miracle in every knockout round to date. The former Arsenal boss told BeIN Sport: “Real Madrid, for me, made a miracle at every round. Because they have (Thibaut) Courtois, they have (Luka) Modric, they have Benzema, they have Vinicius Jr, who can create something special.
“For me, personally, I think the number of goal chances that Real Madrid gave away in every round and the conversion rate of their chances is exceptional but at some stage, they will be punished for that, especially against a good team like City.”
Although the late stages of Wenger’s prediction didn’t come true, it really should have. Jack Grealish squandered two big chances before Rodrygo’s brace that he will be gutted not to have scored. One strike was cleared off of the line by Ferland Mendy, with Courtois saving the second with the very end of his studs. Speaking on BT Sport after those misses, Steve McManaman said: "I mean Grealish had those two wonderful chances and it looked as though City were going to go two-nil, three-nil, thank you very much."
Madrid will take on Liverpool in the Champions League final later this month in Paris, a match that almost certainly will produce a lot of goals. The Reds managed to avoid a shock defeat like their Premier League rivals City on Tuesday night after surviving an early scare.
The Merseyside outfit headed into the second leg of their semi-final against Villarreal with a two-goal advantage, but they self-destructed in the first half and headed into half-time with the aggregate score at 2-2 after goals from Boulaye Dia and Francis Coquelin. Jurgen Klopp’s side then bounced back and won the match 3-2 (5-2 aggregate) thanks to second-half strikes from Fabinho, Luis Diaz and Sadio Mane.
Speaking about playing Liverpool in the final, Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti said: "I am happy to be there in the final, in Paris against another great rival. We are used to it. It will be a fantastic game for football."
