On the way out of the Emirates Stadium, someone asked Kylian Mbappé whether Real Madrid could still do this. “Course we can,” he replied, three words and then he was gone. In front of him, Vinícius Júnior left in silence. Rodrygo passed by unnoticed again. Luka Modric didn’t talk, nor did Fede Valverde. Lucas Vázquez and Raúl Asencio did, then Thibaut Courtois and Jude Bellingham.
“We weren’t good,” Vázquez said. Courtois said: “We forgot to play well.” Asencio said: “It’s not what we expected,” but it wasn’t unexpected either, which is why it was the description Bellingham didn’t use which said it best.
