Reliving 'Magic Monday': Arguably the greatest Euro night ever
The dramatic conclusion to an evening that had many people wondering when we last watched two such pulsating, enthralling matches back-to-back, maybe never.
In the last two matches of Euro 2020, 14 goals were scored. It is the second-highest in this tournament's history. Both the matches went into extra time. And the match between France and Switzerland went into a tiebreaker.
Last Wednesday, 18 goals were scored in four games, but yesterday's 240-minute thriller gave that record a run for its money.
There were moments of beauty across two extraordinary matches on the 18th day of these European Championship finals — a rasping shot from Alvaro Morata, a heavenly touch from Karim Benzema, any one of countless elegant brush-strokes from Luka Modric, Paul Pogba, the prodigious Pedri and even the oft-maligned Granit Xhaka — but above all, there was chaos.
In the match between Spain and Croatia, there was an unexpected own goal. On the other side, there was a miracle goal, a penalty shootout, and a giant-killing in Bucharest.
Spain were 3-1 up and coasting with five minutes remaining in Copenhagen, only for Croatia to find a second wind as substitutes Mislav Orsic and Mario Pasalic took the game into extra time.
The very same scoring pattern was followed in the France-Switzerland game in Bucharest that completed the day's last-16 double-header — 0-1, 1-1, 2-1, 3-1, 3-2, 3-3 — but whereas Spain went on to win, France could not. A penalty shootout saw nine successful kicks before Kylian Mbappe, French football's golden boy, had his saved by Yann Sommer.
"Magic Monday. What an incredible evening", Chris Sutton said to BBC Radio 5 Live.
The dramatic conclusion to an evening that had many people wondering when we last watched two such pulsating, enthralling matches back-to-back, maybe never.
Croatia fought back but only to end with an 'unspeakable sadness'
Croatia had fallen narrowly short against Spain in extra-time, Switzerland's spirit — and no little quality — won the day against the world champions and favourites.
It was an "amazing game" with a "wonderful conclusion" for Spain manager Luis Enrique.
Croatia replacements Mislav Orsic and Mario Pasalic found the net in the last five minutes to come back from a 3-1 deficit, but Spain recovered as the extra 30 minutes created even more thriller.
"The end of the match was so beautiful - I'm glad that the game gave us a second chance to win it. It was an epic game. I've experienced many intense games in my career but this was one of the best", said Enrique.
"I'm ready for games like this if we have another - but I'm not sure if my family or the fans feel the same," he added.
'The greatest game on the planet'
The match that followed in Bucharest, Switzerland stunned last Euro's runner-up and current World Champions France.
Didier Deschamps' team lagged behind at halftime. In the next half, two goals from Karim Benzema and a magnificent long-range shot from Paul Pogba put France in control.
Haris Seferovic and Mario Gavranovic of Switzerland then pushed the match to extra time. And that's not the end of the drama. In the tiebreaker, France superstar Kylian Mbappe's crucial penalty attempt was denied by the Swiss man.
Roy Keane, a former Republic of Ireland player, told ITV, "As neutrals, we got sucked right into it, honestly. This is why it's the greatest game on the planet."
Swiss skipper Granit Xhaka claimed they "made history," while tiebreaker hero Yann Sommer called it "crazy."
"What a game, what a night of football! The end is crazy, it is beautiful, but how we came back during the game from two goals down... I am really proud of this team," he added.
"We always believed, we always said if we are down we will go to the end and not give up. It was our chance to go through. It is incredible how we played.
"Anything is possible but that is always in football. We believed it, we are a small country but we have a lot of quality and have experience in our squad. We showed it."
France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris said, "We went through every emotion possible and honestly that was football the way we like it. But the two goals we conceded in the last quarter of an hour really hurt us."
Switzerland's progression to their first World Cup or Euros quarter-final since 1954 came as a genuine shock.
France had been strong favourites to add this European Championship to their 2018 World Cup success, so their elimination will raise hopes among all 10 teams who remain.
'Magic Monday' was enthralling, it was breathless, it was chaos. And, yes, it was kind of beautiful.
