Real Madrid’s unshakeable faith feels like a dark art for defeated Bayern

At some moment, somewhere amid the mayhem, that symbol of the ridiculousness of Real Madrid returned. The players who had just made another European Cup final had sprinted from one goal to the other, throwing themselves to the floor in front of their fans; Carlo Ancelotti had belted out the club’s anthem with its line about history made and history to be made, the coolest cat looking as if he was about to cry this time; and now they were doing a lap of honour. As they did so, Toni Rüdiger briefly ducked out. When he came back, he was carrying a white plastic chair, stolen from a steward.

They were in front of the north stand at the Santiago Bernabéu, and Rüdiger handed it to David Alaba. One of three Madrid players to sustain a knee injury this season, Alaba has not played much and looked slightly embarrassed to be pushed centre stage but, Rüdiger insisted, this was about everyone and “the chair had to come back”. Alaba had raised it above his head like a trophy after Madrid’s comeback against Paris Saint-Germain in March 2022. He said he didn’t really know why but it had worked somehow – “Don’t you sit in our chair,” he had tweeted soon after, this throne theirs alone – and when he lifted it now everyone got it. They had only gone and done it again.

And again and again. PSG had been wild enough, but it turned out it was just the start. Then came Chelsea and Manchester City. Remember the on-screen graphic, the percentage chance of the teams going through? 99% City, 1% Madrid. Round here, they like those odds. Then came Liverpool in the final, Thibaut Courtois making more saves than anyone else, ever. Two years on, City again: City had 33 shots, nine on target, 18 corners, but it was Madrid that made it through on