Opinion: There is no logic to Real Madrid in the Champions League!

Opinion: There is no logic to Real Madrid in the Champions League!

Lluís Mascaró

Director de Información Deportiva de Prensa Ibérica

| EFE

Barcelona fans, unfortunately, have got used to the bitter taste of failure in Europe. The humiliations suffered by Barça in the Champions League (Juventus, Roma, Liverpool, Bayern, PSG...) have made the competition a genuine nightmare for supporters of the club. For the players, too, of course, as we have seen them, year after year, impotent against superior sides. Seven seasons of deception and disappointment. Seven seasons of failure and frustration.

Barça's last success on the continent was in the treble-winning season of 2014-15. Luis Enrique's team delivered the Champions League with the trident of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez. Since then, it's been disappointment after disappointment until the double disappointment of this season: eliminated from the Champions League group stages and the Europa League quarterfinals. It is impossible to imagine anything worse. But it is: this run has coincided with Madrid success. It's not so long since they won three Champions Leagues in a row. Barça's pain has multiplied with those triumphs. And the only hope for supporters, during this time, has been hoping for a Madrid loss. A sad, really sad, consolation prize. Which, in addition, doesn't often come, either.

On Tuesday, Barça fans placed their faith in Pep Guardiola's Manchester City. Pep's team seemed the only side in a position to cut Madrid's run in this year's competition down. After the comebacks against Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea, Los Blancos have earned themselves a reputation for being a miracle team capable of anything. With Karim Benzema as their saviour. But there was the all-powerful City to bring them down. Or that's what it seemed. Because even though they were about to knock out Carlo Ancelotti's team, Madrid came away from their trip to the Etihad Stadium alive. Incredibly, but that's what happened. 

In a crazy exchange of blows and goals, Madrid achieved a valuable 4-3 loss. Each time they seemed out (above all at 2-0 down after 10 minutes), they came back to life. And in the end, the tie is still open, pending what happens at the Bernabeu next Wednesday. The 4-3 result allows Madrid to dream of another final. And another Champions League. There is no logic to this... 

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