Real Madrid were given an almighty scare by Chelsea on Tuesday but the eternal brilliance of Luka Modric and Karim Benzema prevailed and now they are in sight of their 14th European Cup.
With the Santiago Bernabeu just about empty, except for the Chelsea fans still singing up in the highest corner, down below the talk had already turned to Madrid not just reaching the final, but winning the tournament again.
“Nobody can say we’re not going to win it,” said Real coach Carlo Ancelotti.
It will be Real Madrid’s eighth semi-final in 10 years and of the previous seven, they were crowned champions four times. Since the start of the Champions League era, they have reached 15 semis in total and on seven of those occasions went on to lift the cup.