The ball sat up nicely, but not that nicely. The second goal didn't have to fly in the way it did, it didn't have to be hit with such phenomenal power and accuracy. Cristiano Ronaldo does not have to make it look this easy. It's just what he does, that's all.
He takes centre stage, always. And the bigger that stage, the more he wants and demands it. He is not just one of the best players to have graced this game but one of the bravest. He never hides, he is always prepared to fail, yet so rarely does. And it is not just ego that drives him to take control, but valour. Of course he could lay it off; of course he could take up the secondary space, let another take the responsibility of winning the game. But he won't.
It is his job to send Real Madrid to another final; it is his job to finish off their cussed city rivals. And he has, barring a fightback bordering on the miraculous. Without that, Atletico Madrid are done.
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