Not much that happens in this competition surprises Ancelotti, a European champion twice as a player and five times as a coach, but the manner of their 3-2 victory over Manchester City felt like a revelation to the Madrid coach.

If you are going to unfurl a banner mocking one of the game’s supreme athletes with a few craftily chosen Oasis lyrics, you had better be supremely confident of having the final say. But in the end, City supporters’ tifo taunting Vinicius Junior over Rodri’s capture of the Ballon d’Or – “Stop crying your heart out,