At the Santiago Bernabéu on Feb. 19, the mood was euphoric. Real Madrid had emphatically beaten Manchester City 3-1 to go through to the Champions League knockout phase. After a difficult start in the competition -- losing to Lille, AC Milan and Liverpool, and missing out on the top eight -- anything now seemed possible. The winners of two of the last three editions, and a record 15 throughout their history, were instantly re-installed among the favourites to lift the trophy in 2025.
Key to that turnaround was the definitive "arrival" -- six months after signing -- of Kylian Mbappé.