Last night was no one-off. We’ve seen it all before – late Real Madrid comebacks in the Champions League. Journey back just two year and Real Madrid’s run to the Champions League final (and their subsequent 14th European title) was nothing short of extraordinary.
Real Madrid’s Remarkable Champions League Run in 2022
Last 16 and 2-0 down on aggregate at home to PSG with half an hour to play – no worries. FT – 3-2 Madrid (agg.). The next round, it’s 4-3 to Chelsea on aggregate with 10 minutes left. Again, no panic, only calmness and an inevitable sense that a comeback will happen once more. And low and behold, up steps Rodrygo to send it to extra-time before Karim Benzema finished the job.
Onto the semis and perhaps the most impressive feat of their tournament that year. It’s the second leg at the Bernabeu and Riyad Mahrez has put City – chasing that all-illusive first Champions League title – into a 5-3 aggregate lead after 89 minutes. Now can we panic? Surely? Please? Nope. Up steps Rodrygo again to score two goals to send the tie to extra-time. Benzema bags a penalty to then send Los Blancos through and dump City out.
So, with Bayern leading 1-0 last night with 87 minutes on the clock, they can’t have felt too comfortable. And, of course, the inevitable happened. Therefore, where the story would typically be about a ridiculous comeback, instead, a better story could be the fact that Joselu – a former STOKE CITY PLAYER – was the one to pull Real Madrid out of the fire.
Alfonso Davies Scores First Champions League Goal
With the likes of Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Junior all on the pitch, you’d have got decent odds for backing Alfonso Davies as the first goalscorer. He hadn’t previously netted at all in the competition, despite being ever present in Bayern’s defence for the past few seasons.
Davies scored a banger for Bayern at the Bernabeu
In the 68th minute, Kane switched an audacious pass out wide to Davies. The Canadian ran onto the ball and drove at Antonio Rudiger, before cutting inside and unleashing a vicious strike into the top corner while wearing a Nike Mercurials. Given his power, speed and attacking nature, it’s somewhat surprising that Davies hadn’t scored in Europe’s elite competition until now, but to do so in a semi-final to break the deadlock at the Bernabeu was special. Advantage Bayern.
What Football Boots Does Alfonso Davies Wear?
What boots did Davies wear to net at the Bernabeu? Davies wears the Nike Mercurial Vapor 15 boots, a fantastic boot model that looks sharp and does the business on the pitch. Deriving from the prestigious Mercurial Vapor brand line, the 15’s most desirable quality is arguably the Air Zoom unit that consists of one of the best uppers in the game. This is no small part down to why we feature the Vapor 15s in our list of the best Nike football boots in 2024.
Joselu Rescues Real
Back to the game. There are three minutes left and Real need something. Someone. Anyone. Maybe a player that has felt the sweet, sacred turf of the Bet365 Stadium (which we wish we added to our Impossible Stadium Quiz. A player that knows how to ‘do it’ on a cold Tuesday night in Stoke. Step up Joselu, now’s your time.
Joselu – Made in Stoke
Vinicius Jr cut inside and sent a rather ordinary shot towards goal. Manuel Neuer, usually the epitome of composed, fumbled the save and it rebounded straight to Joselu. Wearing Adidas X Crazyfast boots, he tapped in from close range. The Spaniard, who was incidentally born in Germany, looked offside but replays showed he was well on and the tie was levelled.
It was all Madrid from that point onwards as Bayern desperately struggled to keep possession. Real fans were urging their team on, making a roof-covered Bernabeu a cauldron of noise.
A mere two minutes later, the noise ramped up a notch or five. Bayern couldn’t clear a Real corner and the ball was played out wide to Rudiger inside the Germans’ box. He crossed it first time and Joselu was their again to capitalise – sending the crowd into absolute raptures. Again, there looked like the possibility that both Rudiger (from Vinicious’ pass) and Joselu could be offside, but both were declared on. Bayern, who minutes before looked to be heading into an all-German final, were now staring exit firmly in the face.
There was some more offside drama as Matthijs de Ligt scored but the linesman flagged for offside. The ref instantly blew his whistle, meaning it couldn’t be checked by VAR. The call did seem correct, but it was awfully tight and protocol dictates officials should wait to flag if it’s not clear. But Real held on to get through to yet another Champions League final where they’re firm favourites to secure a record 15th Champions League title.
What Football Boots Does Joselu Wear?
As the title suggests, Joselu wears Adidas X Crazyfast football boots, and did so at the Bernabeu last night. They’re widely considered to be some of the best boots on the market. These are optimised for speed and their lightweight feel allows you to sprint around the pitch with pure dynamism. They reminded us of another model in the X brand, the Adidas X19+ football boots.
Joselu’s Magical Journey to the Champions League Final
If we can’t pay homage to a player who’s just scored a brace at 34-year-old to send his club to a Champions League final, then when can we?
In his late teenage and early twenties years, Joselu was prominent in Celta and later on Real’s B teams. He struggled to break through to their respective first teams though, making just one appearance for Real.
At 22, he went to Germany and featured intermittently for Hoffenheim. He joined a couple other German clubs before reaching his career highlight – playing for Stoke City. As much as we can joke, before his second spell at Real he was potentially most known for his time at Stoke – this is in spite of going to Newcastle after playing in Staffordshire.
He was on the back-9 of his career as he went Alaves and then Espanyol, and you could be forgiven if retirement or a callup to the MLS beckoned. But Carlo Ancelotti signed him on a loan deal and the rest is beautifully curated history.
Joselu Club Career
