Champions League semi-final second leg: Real Madrid 2 Bayern Munich 1 (4-3 aggregate)
WITH three minutes remaining it appeared as though Harry Kane’s hopes of ending his first season at Bayern Munich as a Champions League winner were still alive. A dramatic turnaround though meant it was Real Madrid who will meet Borussia Dortmund in the final after two late goals from Joselu.
Alphonso Davies had fired Bayern ahead and they appeared set to visit Wembley on June 1st until Manuel Neuer spilled Vinicius Junior’s shot and Joselu followed up to score from close range. If that felt like agony for Kane and his teammates, worse was to come in the first minute of added time when Joselu steered home from Antonio Rudiger’s cross and the goal was given after VAR overturned the onfield offside decision.
Real – and Kane’s international teammate Jude Bellingham – will now attempt to win the trophy for a 15th time while a disappointing season for Bayern ended in yet more frustration.
Vinicius Junior’s late penalty meant the tie was perfectly balanced coming into the second leg although there was a lingering sense Bayern had missed out on the chance to establish a significant advantage. Yet while the Bundesliga side had cause to feel a degree of regret, Real’s performance in the Allianz Arena provided another reminder of the resilience they have demonstrated so often in this competition.
They were helped in Munich by two glaring mistakes by Min-jae Kim, the Bayern centre-back who was at fault for both Real goals. The return to fitness of Matthijs de Ligt meant the Netherlands international returned to partner Eric Dier in central defence with Kim dropping to the bench. The home backline also had a stronger look with Dani Carvajal replacing Lucas Vasquez.
Bayern had dominated early possession in the first meeting but unsurprisingly the roles were reversed in the Bernabeu Stadium. It took Vinicius Junior less than 30 seconds to gesture to the home fans, cranking up the volume of support as the Spanish side attempted to take early control of the game.
They were within inches of doing just that in the sixth minute when Carvajal showed his strength going forward. The full-back delivered an excellent low cross into the six-yard box that narrowly evaded Bellingham’s outstretched boot before flashing across the face of goal. Carvajal was involved moments later when the home side came even closer to opening the scoring. A threaded pass found Vinicius Junior whose angled shot was touched onto the inside of the post by Neuer. The keeper, 38, then reacted superbly to save from Rodrygo when the Brazilian moved on to the rebound. As good as Neuer’s save was, there was little doubt the forward should have done much better and a clear opportunity went begging.
Bayern were forced to defend in numbers, much like Borussia Dortmund had in the previous night’s semi-final against Paris Saint-Germain. Serge Gnabry should have done better with an early opening, but the German side’s focus was on maintaining their defensive shape and containing the home side’s attacking threat.
The presence of Kane up front meant they always posed a threat but Tuchel’s side struggled to provide the striker with the kind of service that would allow him to trouble the Real defence. Gnabry limped off early with a hamstring problem while Jamal Musiala and Leroy Sane failed to reach anything like the level of performance that had cause Ancelotti’s side so many problems in the first game.
Kane demonstrated his quality when he was presented with a half chance after the ball looped up off a Real defender, firing in a superbly executed volley that almost caught out keeper Andriy Lunin. But that was the forward’s only meaningful effort on goal in the first half as Neuer emerged as Bayern’s most significant player, producing another excellent reaction save to prevent Vinicius Junior’s curling cross from creeping in at the far post.
The pressure of the occasion appeared to affect both teams during a first half that was marked by uncertainty and a succession of individual mistakes. The start of the second half suggested the game would become more open with Vinicius Junior creating a chance for Federico Valverde before Alphonso Davies came close at the other.
Vinicius Junior was becoming increasingly prominent, easing his way past right back Joshua Kimmich on three occasions before delivering a testing ball in front of Neuer’s goal. But after Rodrygo was again guilty of spurning a good chance by directing a close range effort wide, the winger opted to go it alone, cutting inside from the left and moving past two Bayern defenders before unleashing a powerful shot that drew yet another good save from the German keeper.
Davies made the breakthrough in the 68th minute after cutting in from the left and Bayern appeared in control until Neuer’s late mistake.
Real Madrid (4-3-3): Lunin 6; Carvajal 7, Rudiger 7, Nacho 6, Mendy 6; Tchouameni 6 (Camavinga 70, 6), Kroos 6 (Modric 70, 6), Valverde 6 (Joselu 81, 9); Rodrygo 6 (Diaz 81, 6), Bellingham 7, Vinicius Jr 6.
Subs not used: Courtois, Arrizabalaga, Militao, Vazquez, Ceballos, Garcia, Guler,.
Bayern Munich (4-3-3): Neuer 6; Kimmich 6, De Ligt 6, Dier 6, Mazraoui 6; Laimer 7, Pavlovic 6; Sane 6 (Kim 76, 6), Musiala 6 (Muller 85, 6), Gnabry 6 (Davies 27, 7); Kane 7 (Choupo-Moting 85, 6.
Subs not used: Peretz, Ulreich, Upamecano, Zaragoza, Tel, Goretzka,.
Referee: Szymon Marciniak (Poland) 6
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