Real Madrid beat Bayern Munich in a dramatic encounter to face Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League final.
It was another memorable night in the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium. The first half was evenly balanced and the best chance came through Vinicius hitting the post for the hosts. In the second half, Bayern took the lead with Alphonso Davies’ right-footed shot and they were in a good position until the last minutes.
Madrid pushed hard for the equalizer and finally, with 2 minutes to go, Joselu scored after a mistake from Manuel Neuer. The Spanish striker scored the winning goal three minutes later to dash the visitors’ hope. Bayern nearly leveled the tie in the last attempt, but the ref had blown his whistle for offside and the goal did not count.
Real Madrid beat Bayern Munich 2-1 and 4-3 on aggregate to reach the Champions League final again. They will face Dortmund in the Wembley Stadium in June.
Real Madrid vs Bayern Munich: Play-by-Play
The match started with a high-line press and pacey football from both sides. Bayern Munich had the first real chance through a great teamwork play. However, Gnabry’s cross did not reach Harry Kane in front of the goal. In the 13th minute, Madrid nearly scored, but Vinicius hit the post from a tight angle and his second attempt was saved by Neuer.
The visitors were forced to make the first substitution in the 27th minute. Alphonso Davies replaced Serge Gnabry who seemed to have a hamstring injury. Moments later, Nacho Fernandez could not clear Kimmich’s cross and Lunin made a vital fingertip save to deny Harry Kane.
In the 39th minute, the host almost got lucky with Vinicius’ cross, but Neuer stretched to tip the ball away for a corner. Nothing important happened in the final minutes and the first half ended 0-0. It was a balanced game and the hosts were slightly better.
Second Half Report
Both teams started to play aggressively in the second half. First, Eric Dier was placed well to hook Vinicius’ dangerous cross away and then Alphoso Davies’ shot was deflected for a corner at the other end. In the 53rd minute, Kane got a chance after a mistake from Mendy, but Lunun made a save in the near post. Moments later, Rodrygo’s low shot went just wide from Vinicius’ sharp cross.
Madrid tried to put pressure on Bayern in the second half. In the 59th minute, Rodrygo’s freekick was pushed away by Neuer. The German keeper came into action again in a minute as he made a great one-handed save to send Vinicius’ powerful shot away. On the other side, Musiala’s shot was tipped away from the underside of the bar by Lunin.
In the 68th minute, The Germans took the lead. Harry Kane’s nice pass found Alphonso Davies free on the left flank. The Canadian broke away from Rudiger, before whipping a right-footed shot past Lunin to put the Bavarians ahead. Madrid responded three minutes later through a deflection, but the goal was canceled by the VAR due to Nacho’s clear foul on Kimmich.
The visitors could score the second goal in the 76th minute. Musiala made a run through midfield and passed the ball to Kane, but the striker hit the side netting. Madrid pushed harder for the equalizer and a few minutes later, Vinicius’ volley went over the bar.
Madrid made another late comeback to sink the Germans
In the 88th minute, The hosts finally found the net. Manuel Neuer who had made some great saves throughout the match, fumbled Vinicius’ cross into Joselu’s feet and the Spanish striker made no mistake to level the tie. Two minutes later, the comeback was completed and Joselu scored his second goal from Rudiger’s cross. The goal was ruled out at first, but the VAR showed the Spaniard was onside.
De Ligt scored the equalizer in the 14th minute of the added time, but it did not count as the referee had blown his whistle for offside. The match ended 2-1 and Bayern who were a few minutes away from reaching the final, went away in the most dramatic fashion. It was another great comeback from the Madrid giants and this time it was the super-sub Joselu who stole the show.
Real Madrid Player Ratings (4-2-3-1)
Andriy Lunin (GK) – 7/10: Could do little on the goal. He made a few saves, especially in the second half to keep his side in the game.
Dani Carvajal (RB) – 7/10: Solid performance in defense and attack from the veteran full-back. Helped the team mentally when they were down.
Antonio Rudiger (CB) – 7/10: Was beaten by Davies on Bayern’s goal, but made the winning goal assist for Joselu instead.
Nacho Fernandez (CB) – 6/10: Good display from the captain. He controlled Harry Kane well throughout the match,
Ferland Mendy (LB) – 6/10: Was not as busy as Carvajal, but was solid except for one mistake that led to an opportunity for Kane.
Aurelien Tchouameni (CM) – 6/10: Normal display from the Frenchman. He was good in the defensive part but never made an attacking impact.
Toni Kroos (CM) – 8/10: Classy performance again from the midfield maestro. Modric came in for him when he was tired.
Federico Valverde (CM) – 7/10: Good and energic display from the box-to-box midfielder. He could score a goal but was denied by Neuer.
Jude Bellingham (CAM) – 7/10: Much Better than performance than the first leg. However, he was not the team star as he is in La Liga.
Vinicius Jr (FW) – 8/10: Madrid’s most dangerous player. He caused the visitors many problems and his effort led to the first goal.
Rodrygo (FW) – 6/10: Was quiet throughout the night. He missed a real chance when the match was 0-1.
Substitutes
Eduardo Camavinga (For Tchouameni – 69‘) – 6/10: Came into the game for his fellow Frenchman and helped his team move forward.
Luka Modric (For Kroos – 69‘) – 7/10: Showed his impact again as he was in control of the midfield to make the great comeback happen.
Brahim Diaz (For Rodrygo – 81‘) – 6/10: Came late into the game and did his job well.
Joselu (For Valverde – 81‘) – 8/10: The hero of the night. The 34-year-old’s brace sunk the Bavarians. Man of the match.
Eder Militao (For Bellingham – 90+9‘) – N/A: Came into the pitch to help his team keep the lead.
Manager
Carlo Ancelotti – 8/10: Another great comeback for the Italian coach. Madrid was the better team and his subs worked well to win it late for Los Blancos.
Bayern Munich Player Ratings (4-2-3-1)
Manuel Neuer (GK) – 7/10: Made some vital saves to keep his team in the tie. It was a shame that his error led to the equalizer.
Joshua Kimmich (RB) – 6/10: Had a tough night against Vinicius and could not make his usual impact.
Eric Dier (CB) – 6/10: Made good interceptions in the first half, but could do better on the second goal.
Matthijs de Ligt (CB) – 7/10: His side’s best defender. He was unfortunate that his last-minute goal did not count.
Noussair Mazraoui (LB) – 5/10: Not good enough. His placement was poor at times and did nothing serious in the attack.
Konrad Laimer (CM) – 6/10: He was not at his best tonight and struggled to cope with Madrid’s midfield.
Aleksandar Pavlovic (CM) – 7/10: An enforcer in the Bayern midfield throughout the game. He showed signs of being a good midfielder in the future.
Jamal Musiala (CAM) – 6/10: He created some problems for the hosts, but everyone expects more from the German Jewell.
Serge Gnabry (LW) – 5/10: He was not 100 percent and was replaced in the first half due to injury.
Leroy Sane (RW) – 6/10: His pace made him dangerous again, but he could not make a real impact like the first leg.
Harry Kane (ST) – 7/10: Did his job well from the midfield going forward and made the pass to Davies that led to the goal.
Substitutes
Alphonso Davies (For Gnabry – 27′) – 8/10: His side’s best player by a mile. Scored the goal and was always dangerous on the left flank.
Min-Jae Kim (For Sane – 76′) – 5/10: Could not help his team keep the lead.
Thomas Muller (For Musiala – 84′) – N/A: Had little time to make an impact.
Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting (For Kane – 84′) – N/A: Had little time to make an impact.
Manager
Thomas Tuchel – 7/10: His team had a good strategy until the final minutes. Bayern’s scoring chances were not as good as Madrid’s, but they were always dangerous. He managed his team well but his subs were poor and bad-timing.
