'We are not thinking about the past; this is a different game for both sides,' said Zinedine Zidane of Tuesday's Champions League quarter-final with Liverpool.
The irrelevance of the 2018 final in Ukraine is genuine because the motors of that Real side, Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale, are gone. Midfield is what matters now for Madrid.
The club have failed to replace Ronaldo. Eden Hazard has made only eight starts all season and doesn't make the squad tonight. They are a different animal now — one that depends on its beating-heart midfield of Toni Kroos, Casemiro and Luka Modric.