How have Real Madrid become so inevitable in the Champions League?

Karan Ahgun

— 2 min read
How have Real Madrid become so inevitable in the Champions League?

Real Madrid dispatched Manchester City with ease in the Champions League Playoff round and their performance certainly sent out a signal that they are once again on the hunt for another Champions League title. It feels almost inevitable that Real Madrid will win the Champions League, so it wasn't a surprise that they would win this playoff tie against Manchester City, despite their mixed performance in the League Phase.

Real Madrid's League Phase performance was underwhelming, considering their Champions League heritage and this performance landed them in 11th place in the table. There were surprise losses to Lille and AC Milan, which sparked a conversation around Carlo Ancelotti's position at the club, as well as the addition of Kylian Mbappé to the squad. The highlight of Madrid's League Phase was definitely the 5-2 victory over Borussia Dortmund, but even in this match, they were 2-0 down in the first half. They required a second half hat-trick from Vinicius Jr. to bail Real Madrid out but the victory ended up being a valuable one. All of this set up a mouthwatering tie against Manchester City to progress in the competition.

The 2nd leg of the playoff tie against Manchester City reaffirmed to football fans not to write off Real Madrid in this season's Champions League. Kylian Mbappé gave a masterclass in attacking play, scoring a hat-trick with each goal being beautiful in their own right. The first goal was a beautiful dink over a foundering Ederson, the second saw Mbappé send Gvardiol to the shops and the third was a sumptuous left-footed finish into the bottom corner. Real Madrid played with a certain swagger in this match, befitting of one of the best teams in the world and the favourites to win this season's competition. An unsung hero in Rodyrgo, was one of the standout performers on the night, weaving his way through City's defensive lines and making a big impact on the night. Overall, this match really sent a signal to the rest of the teams still in the Champions League that they will have a hard time dethroning Los Blancos.

The rest of the competition looks tasty, especially after the draw taking place on Friday morning. The round of 16 brings a Madrid derby and has also put most of the competition favourites on the same side of the draw. If victorious in the RO16, Real Madrid could face Arsenal in the quarter-finals and one of Liverpool, PSG or Aston Villa in the semi-finals. Whilst a couple of these games can be seen as potential banana skins, it feels like there is little point betting against Real Madrid in this competition. So they'll probably win it for the 16th time !

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