Initial Conditions

Context

This was the second leg of a quarter final in the 2002-03 Champions League season, a time when La Liga was arguably Europe’s dominant league, and Premier League clubs doing well was nice rather than an expectation. And Newcastle were in the Champions League!

United were England’s only representatives at this stage, with Liverpool faulty at Basel in the first round, Newcastle falling foul of Inter and Barcelona in round 2, and Arsenal outmuscled by Ajax and Valencia at the same stage. Real had beaten United 3-1 in the first leg, so only a victory by at least two clear goals (conceding at most one) would be enough to see them face Juventus in the semi-finals.

Action

Unfortunately for United, Real were slap bang in the middle of the “galacticos” phase. Ronaldo (the original, less annoying one) was just fresh from a golden boot at the 2002 World Cup, Zidane still had a good four years left, and Raul was still in his pomp.

As with most teams built in such a way, the defence was a wee bit ropy (bar Casillas in goal). Surely that would help them?

Luckily enough, I’ve found a video!

So Ronaldo’s magnificent hat-trick saw Real through, and in the end United would still have needed another two goals to progress.

Action:

12′ Ronaldo

43′ van Nistelrooy

50′ Ronaldo

52′ Helguera (og)

59′ Ronaldo (hat trick)

71′ Beckham

85′ Beckham

Fallout

United recovered from the disappointment to win the Premier League (with a little help from Leeds United), while Madrid went on to lose to Juventus in an almost equally entertaining semi-final encounter. They haven’t been anywhere near a final since.