Bayern Munich qualified for the semi-finals of the Champions League thanks to their victory on Wednesday against Arsenal (1-0, 3-2 on aggregate). A return match where the Germans wanted to take advantage of a cool break improvised by the Gunners in the middle of the match to score. Unlikely.
German rigor or English deconcentration… After the draw in the first leg at the Emirates, the quarter-final second leg of the Champions League between Bayern Munich and Arsenal (1-0, 3-2 on aggregate) gave rise to a scene as surprising as it is amusing in the 35th minute.
Manhandled by the Bavarians at the start of the match, the Gunners took a refreshing and tactical break while Bukayo Saka regained his senses following a ball received in the face. Except that Joshua Kimmich and the Bayern players wanted to play quickly to score against David Raya abandoned by his other teammates.
>> Relive the suspense match Bayern-Arsenal (1-0)
The referee stopped the Germans
Listening to Mikel Arteta’s instructions on the edge of the pitch, the Arsenal players almost got trapped by the Germans’ ruse. Quicker to react, seeing his opponents play quickly, Martin Odegaard tried to re-mobilize his partners. In vain, the reaction of the London captain would not have changed anything.
Fortunately for the Gunners, referee Danny Makkelie stopped Bayern in their offensive. Staying next to Bukayo Saka to check on him after the ball was hit in the face, the Dutch official refused to allow the Munich team to quickly take a throw-in… thus allowing the Arsenal defense to reposition itself.
>> All the Champions League semi-final matches are on RMC Sport
Unlike the contentious situation in the first leg, where Thomas Tuchel was furious after a six-yarder played in two stages by Arsenal and which should have earned his team a penalty for a handball, Danny Makkelie’s decision to prevent Bayern from taking advantage of the moment of confusion of the Gunners had no consequence on the outcome of the match.
Shortly after the hour mark, Joshua Kimmich delivered his team and all the supporters present at the Allianz Arena by scoring the only goal of the match, that of qualification for the semi-finals. A goal which, this time, suffered no dispute.
