It simply had to be them, right? The 13-time Champions League winners and one of the greatest sports collectives in the world, Real Madrid, turned around effectively a 2-0 hole into a 3-2 aggregate win over PSG in the Champions League Round of 16.
It was an instant classic of the biggest club competition in the world and it turned heads. It was made greater by various factors, mostly by the fact that PSG assembled the greatest trio in attack, on paper, with Lionel Messi, Neymar, and Kylian Mbappe. As the tie was getting closer, most expected PSG to eliminate Real Madrid, but now some are starting to put Real Madrid up there with Bayern Munich, Liverpool, and Manchester City.
Here are three reasons why Real Madrid could be the new Champions League favorite.
Real Madrid as the Champions League favorite
Momentum and confidence
Momentum is usually a thing of the, as the name suggests, moment, but it can spill over to an entire season. Chelsea, for instance, had a terrible start to the season last year, but as momentum shifted their way with Thomas Tuchel at the helm, they ended up winning the competition against all odds.
In this case, Real Madrid has got to carry a ton of momentum from this matchup versus PSG. It was not only that they passed through the Round of 16 and eliminated one of the favorites, but the manner in which they did it. Karim Benzema scored three goals in 17 minutes and effectively propelled Real Madrid into a team that is fully ready to reclaim this competition as their own.
This second leg versus PSG is the type of game that turns around a season. Real Madrid not only got excellent performances from the likes of Benzema, Vinicius, Luka Modric, but also out of Rodrygo, Federico Valverde, and Eduardo Camavinga. All of the players mentioned in the second trio are young guns who do not get a surefire starting spot and have to fight for their minutes.
Thus, producing in the way Valverde produced in the full 90 minutes and the duo of Rodrygo and Camavinga produced in their half-an-hour on the pitch is likely to increase their confidence, meaning that Real Madrid has an even deeper bench. Given that the entire team got a huge confidence boost through the second leg, and given that all of the momentum is on their side, no one should sleep on this team.
Experience
There are some differences between this Real Madrid team and the one that last won the Champions League in 2018. Most notably, two of the most important players, some would say, of that 2018 squad are gone, as Cristiano Ronaldo is on Manchester United and Sergio Ramos is on PSG.
Yet, this squad is still beaming with experience. While some are locked to the bench, like four-time Champions League winners Isco, Gareth Bale, and Marcelo, some of them are on the field week in and week out, such as Benzema, Modric, Dani Carvajal, Toni Kroos, and Casemiro. All of these guys have tons of huge games behind them, and that experience could be the difference-maker in a matchup similar to this one.
The fact of the matter is that no team has so many players with Champions League games on their roster. No other team has so many Champions League winner medals as does Real Madrid.
Now, some would say that is irrelevant, as Manchester City, Bayern Munich, and Liverpool have much better teams, but how many people would look at that PSG team and say that it was worse than Real Madrid's? Not many. That is true for all the teams above, but as the Champions League is a competition where two games are played, there is more room for heroic comebacks and moments where composure that comes from experience is more relevant than ability on the field.
That should give Real Madrid the chance to win, even against the mentioned teams above.
Karim Benzema
Karim Benzema is one of the best players currently on the planet. He has been absolutely amazing for Real Madrid and in his return to the French national team. This season, he already has 34 goals and 11 assists in all competitions for Real Madrid, including eight goals in the Champions League. Out of the eight he scored, three came in quick succession against PSG. While they seemed as fairly simple finishes, his ability to end up in these positions and so many other things he does on the field for his club give him the right to believe he is the best on the planet right now.
In basketball, it is often said that when your team has the best player on the field, you have a chance to win. That usually does not work for football, a much more team-oriented game, but Benzema does so much for Real Madrid, in terms of link-up play with the midfield and his goalscoring prowess, that we can say that he could be a reason why Real Madrid is competitive against everyone. Benzema can seemingly invent goalscoring opportunities, while also being able to set up his teammates in great chances, and that is why he is so instrumental for this team.
While he cannot win any game alone, Benzema is the most important part of this club and always gives Real Madrid a realistic chance to win any game.
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