CSKA Moscow’s victory over Real Madrid showed how great and tragic group stages can be

Around the 80th minute of Wednesday’ game between Real Madrid and CSKA Moscow, the commentator* on the world feed was going over once again the conditions that had to be met for CSKA to get to the Europa League.

*Damn the UEFA website for mentioning everything from minute-to-minute tactics to the dryness of the field, but not the names of the people working their games.

The Russian team was tied with Viktoria Plzen on points for third place going into the last game of the Champions League group stage, but because CSKA had lost to Plzen, they needed to better whatever result Plzen got in their game with Roma. A Plzen loss or draw would keep CSKA alive, but a Plzen win would make any CSKA result against Real Madrid inconsequential.

By that 80th minute, CSKA were improbably up 3-0 on Real Madrid. They had beaten the tournament’s reigning champions 1-0 in their first match, too, so not only would CSKA be responsible for the worst home defeat that Real Madrid had ever suffered in Europe, but they would have managed to keep them scoreless in two games.

But by that the 80th minute, the commentator didn’t seem in any mood to celebrate. He sounded sad, juxtaposing what CSKA were doing with the fact that Plzen were beating Roma, 2-1.

CSKA’s victory was the cliché “smash-and-grab” victory. Real Madrid dominated most of the first half, and the game as a whole, but after the Spanish club missed a few early chances, including a shot that hit the post, CSKA scored two quick goals in less than seven minutes through Fedor Chalov and Georgi Shchennikov. At that point, the Plzen and Roma were still scoreless, and CSKA were on the verge of doing what seemed impossible at the beginning of the game.

The drama of the last day of Champions League games comes from teams having something to play for — whether that’s the two big teams in each group vying for a top spot, or, in the case of CSKA, a lesser-regarded team trying to salvage third place out of an otherwise disappointing campaign. Sometimes teams are playing only for pride, to go out with a bang. They often throw caution to the wind, which sets the stage for some incredible soccer.

Tragedy creeps in situations like CSKA’s, a team that had all or nothing to gain and incomplete control of its fate. It’s the best kind of tragedy precisely because all CSKA can do is what they did, which is to beat Real Madrid for the second time, a heroic task in itself, and then wait and hope that the universe is kind to them.

Just as quickly as CSKA’s hopes were raised after going up 2-0 against Real Madrid, they were crushed when Plzen scored against Roma. They were restored when Roma equalized in the 68th minute, but then, in the same minute that CSKA scored their third, Plzen scored their second. The rest of the game had the double tension of CSKA trying to manage their own game, and praying that Roma would score again.

CSKA were in that sympathetic position because of how they had played against Real Madrid, that even a usually objective commentator felt bad for them.

Unfortunately, just as CSKA were on the verge of writing a great story on the last day, so were Plzen, and only one of those teams could have a happy ending. In order for one team to be a story of triumph, the other had to be a tragedy. What was bad for CSKA was great for Plzen, and if I was watching the Plzen game instead, my emotions would have reasonably flipped in their favor.

The tragedies of the last day of Champions League games are good examples of how quickly fortunes can change in the sport. In the minute when CSKA scored their third goal and Plzen scored their second, CSKA went from what would have been a famous victory over Real Madrid to finishing last in their group and having nothing tangible to show for the effort. The finality of that last game created the conditions for utter heartbreak that only the last day of tournament soccer can provide.”