Rio Ferdinand has pinpointed the three main reasons Real Madrid were able to stage the most devastating comeback on Wednesday night - sentencing Manchester City to more Champions League heartache.
After heading to Spain with a one-goal advantage following the pulsating opening leg, City were seemingly set to book their flights to Paris when Riyad Mahrez curled into the top corner with 15 minutes to play. At that stage they were 5-3 ahead on aggregate. Alas, there was some unthinkable drama to follow.
Rodrygo scored twice in added-time to rubber-stamp an additional 30 minutes. Stunned by those scenes, however, there was even worse to come for City as Karim Benzema made his mark from the penalty spot for the second time over the course of this high-octane Champions League tie.
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It means Real will take on Liverpool for the biggest prize in European football on Saturday, May 28. As for City and their heartbroken supporters, it was a case of what might and really ought to have been as they aim to dust themselves down for an ongoing Premier League title battle.
Speaking in his role as a pundit, Ferdinand told BT Sport: "You should never doubt the players in this team (Real Madrid). We have always said, experience counts for so much in this competition, but they showed heart, desire.
"These players they have been there, they have seen this. The fact that they have so many players in this squad that have won multiple Champions Leagues, at no point in this tournament did you see them panic.
"No matter where they are, or what players they have got, these boys trust each other, trust the manager and, with this crowd, they have been crazy."
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