Carlo Ancelotti Showed a Video of Real Madrid's Comebacks to His Player Before Win over Manchester City

Karim Benzema scored an extra-time penalty as Real Madrid pulled off another astonishing comeback in the Champions League to stun Manchester City 3-1 on Wednesday and book a showdown with Liverpool in the final.

City looked certain to go through when Riyad Mahrez put them 1-0 up and 5-3 ahead on aggregate but Rodrygo, on as a substitute, scored an incredible late double, his goals in the 90th and 91st minutes sending the tie to extra time.

With City still reeling, Real Madrid landed the knock-out blow as Benzema earned and then converted a spot-kick to snatch a 6-5 win on aggregate, with another remarkable fightback at the Santiago Bernabeu added to the club’s long list of magical European nights.

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Carlo Ancelotti said the “history of the club” helped them stage another Champions League comeback on Wednesday and reach the final.

Ahead of the semifinal, Ancelotti made his players watch a video montage of all the comebacks Real Madrid had made this season and at the end said: “There is one missing”

The 13-time European champions trailed 1-0 on the night and 5-3 on aggregate in the last-four tie entering the 90th minute, but Rodrygo scored a late double and Karim Benzema’s extra-time penalty sent them through.

Real had also come from behind to beat Paris Saint-Germain in the last 16 and Chelsea in the quarter-finals.

“I cannot say we are used to living this kind if life, but what happened tonight it happened against Chelsea and also against PSG,” Ancelotti told BT Sport after becoming the first coach in history to reach five finals in the competition.

“If you have to say why, it is the history of this club that helps us to keep going when it seems that we are gone.

“The game was close to finished and we managed to find the last energy we had.”

The 6-5 aggregate triumph sends Madrid into a record-extending 17th Champions League final, where Ancelotti could set a new record of four European Cups as a coach.

Six-time winners Liverpool will be their opponents in the final on May 28 in Paris.

“I am happy to be there in the final, in Paris against another great rival,” added the 62-year-old Ancelotti.

“We are used to it. It will be a fantastic game for football.”

Ancelotti also became the first coach to win all five of Europe’s top leagues when Real sealed the La Liga title last weekend.

(With inputs from AFP)