The game: Bayern’s plan almost worked
Eight days after going blow for blow without giving the impression of calculating (2-2), Real Madrid and Bayern Munich – logically, no doubt – showed more caution this Wednesday. The Merengue took the game into their own hands, most often seeking to pass through the sides. However, they stumbled against the Bavarian wall for a long time. Very well organized defensively, the Munich players willingly left the leather to their opponents and placed banderillas on the counter, which allowed them to open the scoring. The German plan was almost perfect… but it was shattered at the very end of the game.
The players: Joselu unexpected hero, unfortunate Neuer
The unexpected hero of the match is him. Entering ten minutes from the end of regulation time, Joselu sent Real to the final by scoring a double full of opportunism (88th, 90th + 1). Swirling and sharp, Vinicius Junior made monstrous differences on his left wing and was at the origin of the equalizing goal. Jude Bellingham tried hard but had little impact on the debates.
Joselu of Real Madrid celebrates scoring his team’s second goal during the UEFA Champions League semi-final second leg match between Real Madrid and FC Bayern München.
Credit: Getty Images
On the Bavarian side, we can easily imagine that the frustration must be immense for Manuel Neuer. The 38-year-old goalkeeper kept his team alive thanks to several very classy saves, before ruining everything by committing a handball which resulted in Madrid’s equalizer. Harry Kane shone in a pivotal role, and it was precisely after one of his stalls that he delivered an assist for Alphonso Davies (68th). Leroy Sané and Jamal Musiala, for their part, multiplied the bad offensive choices, while Joshua Kimmich, positioned on the right side, was put to torture by Vinicius.
The X Factor: A flag raised too soon?
The scene occurred at the end of added time and it is likely to cause a lot of talk across the Rhine. Found by a header from Thomas Müller, Matthijs de Ligt found the net with a shot from the right. A goal logically refused, to the extent that the referee had previously signaled offside. Looking back at the images, this illicit position nevertheless seems extremely difficult to detect. It is not a question of stating with certainty that the Munich player (in this case, Noussair Mazraoui) was offside, or that he was not. Just to note that the assistant would be better off raising his flag a posteriori, so that the action can be dissected by the VAR.
End of an anomaly or immense regrets for Bayern?
The stat: 18
Real Madrid qualified for the 18th C1 final in its history, which represents a record. He has won 14 of the previous 17, and will therefore try to lift the big-eared trophy for the 15th time on June 1, against Borussia Dortmund.
The statement: Ferland Mendy (Real Madrid, at the microphone of Canal+)
You might think it’s luck, but it’s anything but luck to get there again
The question: As if it was already done?
There’s no need to even pretend to be surprised, as it has become a habit for everyone. Real Madrid are in the final of the Champions League, for the sixth time in the last eleven editions. He has lifted the trophy so often that he has not tripped on the last step since… 1981, against Bob Paisley’s Liverpool (1-0). Therefore, we wonder how the Madrilenians, who dismissed Bayern in the semi-final (2-2, 2-1), could not triumph again in less than a month, at Wembley.
First of all because they will logically be the big favorites in this final. Because of their status, already. From their XXL season, too, which saw them fly through La Liga with insolent ease and achieve an almost perfect run in C1. From the pedigree of their opponent, finally, since Borussia Dortmund may not have reached this point by chance, they are no longer really one of the leaders of the Old Continent, as their ranking in the league (5th) attests.
Presented like this, obviously, the upcoming final appears to be one of the most unbalanced in the recent history of the competition. However, Carlo Ancelotti’s men will have to avoid falling into the easy trap at all costs. We must not forget that they went through a mouse hole against Manchester City in the quarter and that they came close to going off the road against Munich, only being saved by a double from nowhere from Joselu. And then, they will just have to dissect the two self-sacrificing victories of the Marsupials against PSG to understand that they will not have the game won in advance. So much the better, obviously.
