Whatever your take on Real Madrid as a club and an institution, you can't deny there's an aura about them - and Los Blancos' heavyweight tussle with Manchester City midweek only added to its lustre.
Two goals down to Pep Guardiola's City after just 11 minutes of their Champions League semi-final first leg, the stage seemed set for a humbling defeat.
However, this is Real Madrid we're talking about, a team with 13 European Cups in their glittering history and dramatic aggregate wins against Paris St Germain and Chelsea already in this edition of the competition. A team who can win a record-extending 35th La Liga title on Saturday if they beat Espanyol.
A top class finish from the electric Karim Benzema threw Madrid a lifeline on Tuesday and, despite City leading throughout, Carlo Ancelotti's side kept finding moments to keep them in the contest...a ridiculously cool-headed 'Panenka' from Benzema finishing the scoring in a 4-3 defeat that has set up a humdinger of a second leg at the Bernabeu next Wednesday.
The likes of Benzema, Modric and Vinicius Jr are the latest in a long line of Real 'Galacticos' that includes legends such as Zinedine Zidane, Luis Figo, Ferenc Puskas, Raul , Di Stefano and...a player who is currently strutting his stuff in the Premier League!
That links us smoothly to this week's Playmaker quiz - which requires you to name the NINE current Premier League players who have played at least a minute of senior football for Real Madrid. It's a cracking list and we wager that only the really trivia buffs among you will nail all of them.
Let us know how you get on; good luck!
4-3 | ||
Kevin De Bruyne 2' Gabriel Jesus 11' Phil Foden 53' Bernardo Silva 74' | Karim Benzema 33' 82' (pen.) Vinícius Júnior 55' |
