As the game entered its final minutes, the tension was almost unbearable. Dortmund needed one more goal. One more goal to complete the greatest comeback in Champions League history. And in the 92nd minute, they had their chance.
Mateo, who had run himself into the ground, who had given every last ounce of his energy, his talent, his heart, picked up the ball on the halfway line. He had one last run in him, one last desperate, defiant surge towards the Madrid goal.
He beat one player, then another, his legs screaming in protest, his lungs burning. He was in the Madrid half, the goal in his sights, the miracle within his grasp. And then, a cynical, desperate, brutal tackle from behind from Sergio Ramos. A sickening crunch, a flash of white-hot pain, and Mateo was on the ground, his dream, and his ankle, shattered.
