Real Madrid need to produce a sensational comeback to down Arsenal in their Champions League quarter-final tie with all the talk in Spain of ‘La Remontada’ at the Bernabeu
All the talk in Madrid in recent days has been of ‘La Remontada’ as Real Madrid bid to create another European memory by downing Arsenal. The Gunners head to the Spanish capital with a 3-0 lead, but the locals believe a comeback can take place.
Declan Rice’s two stunning free-kicks gave Arsenal a commanding lead over the Champions League holders, who now face a huge uphill task on their own patch. Plenty saw Real as the favourites for the tournament, especially after they added Kylian Mbappe to an already winning team.
However the Premier League side showed they had more than enough to handle Los Blancos last week and are in a strong position as they bid to make the last four in Europe. They know the job is only half done though and if any side has consistently shown it can overcome the odds in the Champions League then it is Real – the team that has won the tournament in six of the last 11 years.
Some of those victories have included the most miraculous of comebacks and Arsenal will be desperate to ensure they are not the fall guys in another epic story, that will be concluded at the Bernabeu one way or another.
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What is ‘La Remontada’?
In Spanish it means ‘the comeback’ and in recent years Real have certainly had plenty to give them hope. Rewind to last year and Bayern Munich looked to be in control of their semi-final in Madrid, leading 1-0 on the night and 3-2 on aggregate with two minutes to play.
Joselu would score an equaliser and then produced the winner in stoppage time, but only after VAR had intervened to overturn the original disallowed goal. Two years prior to that and Manchester City were on the receiving end, this time it was Rodrygo who scored twice with the clock in the red in another epic semi-final.
Jude Bellingham tasted Champions League glory last year and the talk of another Real comeback was the only thing being discussed in Madrid. He said: “Remontada…[comeback] I’ve heard it about a million times this week, I’ve seen a million videos online.”
The 21-year-old added: “There’s not a lot you can do for Real Madrid in the Champions League that hasn’t already been done. Tomorrow is an opportunity for us to do something for the first time and that’s really important to us. It’s a weird environment these last few days.
“One of the worst results we could possibly imagine away and for some reason everyone thinks it’s nailed on that we’ll come back. There’s a lot of trust in the talent. There’s an expectation from Real Madrid that when we get into these kind of holes we can come back, even if it’s a really tough one, a really difficult one.
In the history of the Champions League only three teams have lost a first-leg by three goals or more, only to go on and lose the tie. The most remarkable example being when PSG beat Barcelona 4-0 in Paris, only to lose 6-1 at the Nou Camp with a goal in the final minute.
Barcelona have twice been on the receiving end, winning handsomely against Roma in 2018 and Liverpool in 2019, only to be knocked out. Whilst back in 2004 AC Milan, then holders, beat Deportivo La Coruna 4-1, before losing the return leg in Spain 4-0.
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