He is Real Madrid’s brain and heart, and three goals show that.
There are a lot of people in London. He has seen most of what there is to see by now. When he was a child, he won four Champions Leagues. He has played in the final of the World Cup before, and he did well. His time at Real Madrid has made him a part of the best players of his time. Among his peers, he is one of the best. He isn’t likely to be very impressed or surprised by things that happen to him.
When Real Madrid played Chelsea in the first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal on Wednesday, Modric saw something that did both. In the Chelsea penalty area, he stood on the edge of the area and looked at how the cross had flown. A deft, clipped number, swirling away from Edouard Mendy’s goal and toward Karim Benzema, would have made him happy.
It would have been easy for Modric to see that the trajectory of the ball and the position of the player were not quite in sync with each other. If the cross was a little too far back, it was too far in front. It was a little off by an inch or so, but few players care more about being precise than Modric. These things matter to him.
Still, it wasn’t over. Benzema had many choices. There was only one thing that made sense. There are other ways that he could try to score, like with a powerful header that Mendy didn’t even notice until after a few minutes. He might even have time to bring the ball down and play from there.
What Modric could not have foreseen was what came next. Even though Benzema was leaning back just a little, he threw the ball softly across Mendy’s goal. It stayed in the air for what seemed like a long time, drifting toward the far end. Everyone at Stamford Bridge was waiting to see where the ball would land.
It was finally inside the post. With his hands open, Benzema ran toward the Real Madrid fans. Modric looked like he was still in a pause. His arms were out in the air and he was smiling in disbelief. As it turns out, Karim Benzema can sometimes even surprise Luka Modric with his football skills.
