Once Xabi Alonso had been whisked away from the glare, through a door hanging a banner listing every single bit of silverware won across Real Madrid’s storied history, the club’s television channel cut to highlights of a Champions League final.
Presumably that was a bid to lift the spirits of their watching public, bruised by the tempestuous 2-0 home defeat at the hands of Celta Vigo on Sunday.
The final of choice was 2022. Liverpool in Paris. Vinicius Junior. Simpler times, before this manager rocked up with his new-fangled ideas of running and playing as a collective.