Dani Carvajal couldn't possibly have known that a two-yard square pass in a non-descript area in the RB Leipzig half at the start of the second half of their round-of-16 tie would have yielded his first goal contribution in the UEFA Champions League this season.
For one, the pass was a bit rubbish, forcing the receiver to move towards the too-slow ball, under intense pressure from his marker. For another, that pressure had been the norm for much of the previous 48+ minutes of the match. The pressure was so much so throughout the whole match that Real Madrid keeper Andriy Lunin had to make nine saves in this game... the last time a Madrid keeper had to make that many was when Thibaut Courtois kept out Liverpool in the 2021/22 UCL final.
So this pass, more than anything, was designed as a possession-keeping one. Pass it along, give it to a diminutive midfielder, he'll keep the ball away from the relentless German press, and everyone can take a couple of breaths. What he didn't count on was that Brahim Diaz, that diminutive midfielder, would take his, and everyone else's breath away with a moment of pure footballing genius.
��♂️ Brahim Díaz solo brilliance
�� Foden finishes the team move
⚡ Barcola in full flow
�� A special first #UCL goal for MattssonBest goal here? #UCLGOTW || @Heineken
- UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) February 14, 2024
It starts when Brahim Diaz has to adjust his body to go back and receive the pass. That awkward adjustment gave David Raum the idea that Diaz is off-balance, and a steal is on the cards... and then Diaz drops a shoulder and lets the ball roll across his body. Now Raum is steaming forward in one direction, Diaz in the other and so he decides to take a page from the old fullback rule book: 'Either the ball goes past me or the man, never both.' Since the ball has already done the going, he tries to wipe out Diaz's feet from under him. Diaz, though, knows this is coming... he stumbles a bit, but immediately regains balance and sets off.
Cutting inside, he's immediately met with two strong challenges. First, he hurdles past a lunging Xavi Simons who gives him a shove in the back after missing his tackle. That shove, though, doesn't change Diaz's momentum. Then, he brushes aside the onrushing Xaver Schlager's attempted shoulder bullying and subsequent kick like he isn't even there.
Three attempted hack downs evaded, he squares up Willi Orban and uses him as a wall around which he unleashes a curling effort that nestles in the top far corner of Peter Gulacsi's net. It was a finish as sensational as the run that preceded it. From start to finish, from Diaz receiving the ball to it smashing into the net, the move lasted seven seconds... and in those seven seconds Madrid showed just why they are who they are.
They hadn't been good for much of the match. They hadn't been playing their first-choice XI. For instance, on a normal day, Diaz himself wouldn't have been playing this game. He was only starting it because Jude Bellingham, superstar already, was injured...but this is a peak Carlo Ancelotti team, and every part of the team works like they were always meant to be there.
No Courtois, Lunin is there. No centre-backs? We'll have a right-back and a central midfielder play CB (like they did against Girona over the weekend). No domination? We'll battle it out across the park, batten down the hatches. So when the question that arose was 'no Bellingham...?' the answer for Ancelotti was 'no problem, we have Brahim'.
Diaz has played a prominent role as a rotation/impact player this season. He's got eight goals (and three assists) in 28 matches: that's already the 24-year-old's best returns in a season. Those who have seen him at his best know that Diaz is capable of the spectacular, but he's shown it far too infrequently. Now, though, Ancelotti just might be getting the best out of him... he certainly did on Tuesday as Diaz takes our moment of the (Champions League) week.