The Real Madrid man in action in the other Champions League semi-final
Brahim Díaz is on loan at Milan
Second leg comebacks in Champions League semi-finals are something that Real Madrid know all about after their heroics of 2022, and Brahim Díaz will be hoping that translates into a sign of good luck for his Milan team at San Siro tonight.
The Spaniard is currently enjoying his third consecutive season on loan at the club, and he is yet to be on the losing team while on the scoresheet against an Italian side. From 17 goals for the red and black half of the city, he has been on the winning side 16 times, the only exception being a 3-2 defeat against Liverpool at Anfield in last season’s Champions League.
It has been quiet the audition for the 23-year-old, who made his professional debut at 17 for Manchester City. Real Madrid snapped him up for 17 million euros in 2019, but he is yet to have much of a chance in the Spanish capital.
Just six starts in a season and a half saw him searching for an exit for more game time, which is when Milan appeared. From his formative years in Málaga to Milan via Manchester and Madrid, he had been on quite the journey before even having a real crack of the whip at first team football.
“I've taken another step forward here, now I'm more important for my team, I generate more chances, I make more key passes, I'm more confident,” Brahim himself explained to MARCA before the first leg. “If the match is balanced, I try to use my magic to change it. And this year that is happening, and also in big games. That has more impact and I'm being much more consistent.”
He has been fundamental to Milan’s revival in the Champions League. His header in the first leg proved to be the only goal of the 180 minute battle against Tottenham, one of only six goals in 41 games this season. It added a goalscoring edge to his game which the lack of has been one of the sources of criticism from Madridistas unconvinced by the prospect of him returning to Chamartín in the summer.
In the first leg, much of Inter’s defensive work was to silence Brahim. That much is demonstrated by the fact that Inter committed five fouls on him before Stefano Pioli rolled the dice and replaced him with Tommaso Pobega on 82 minutes.
In this return fixture, he could again be decisive on the right flank. His technical ability means that he is well armed for one on one battles and Federico Dimarco, Inter’s left-wing-back, knows only too well what he is capable of.
The alternative is that Pioli could line him up down the middle, acting as a number 10, instead placing Alexis Saelemaekers on the right wing. It’s a role that has been Díaz’s primary one this season, dictating play and looking like the creative threat to feed in Rafael Leão down the left or Ante Rebić or Olivier Giroud through the middle.
However, he’s in far from his best form. Failure to score or assist tonight would take his run of games without a goal involvement to six, the longest streak he’s had since September.
With his contract running to 2025, Brahim’s future is up in the air. Real Madrid could be tempted to cash in before allowing him to run his contract down, or seek to incorporate him into their squad, though his playmaking role doesn’t exist under Carlo Ancelotti and there is no shortage of wide talent.
For now, he is completely focused on Milan. “El Calcio es la vida”, “football is life”, Brahim said when asked about this game. Tonight, he will certainly be reminded of that.