After Borussia Dortmund qualified for the final, the identity of the second finalist was missing. And after the first leg's draw (2-2), it's Casa Blanca who will try to win their 15th European title after another completely crazy end to the match.
A clash between two behemoths of European football. The day after Borussia Dortmund qualified to the detriment of Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich were competing for the last ticket to the grand final which will take place at Wembley on June 1st. At the end of a high-level first leg confrontation where the two teams neutralized each other (2-2), the fate of this semi-final was to be decided at the Santiago Bernabéu. Motivated by the idea of clinching the 18th final in its history and supported by its twelfth man, the Merengue club set the tempo from the start. However, the Munich defense, well in place and responsive, gave a tough time to the Madrid offensive armada carried by a very active Vinicius Jr at the forefront, but too short to take over a strong cross from Carvajal (7th). A real dynamite of a very enterprising Madrid team, the Brazilian subsequently lacked success by hitting the post with a cross shot before Rodrygo, on the rebound, immediately came up against Neuer (14th).
Miraculously, Bayern Munich struggled to respond to their opponent head-to-head and suffered a first blow with the injury exit of Gnabry shortly before the half-hour mark (27th). Gradually regaining color thanks to a block positioned higher on the meadow, the Munich club was very close to hitting the mark on its first attempt. Receiving a ball returned full axis by the Iberian defense following a cross from Kimmich, Kane dared to volley from 20 meters, deflected by Lunin for a corner (27th). A slight thrill for the local team who immediately set off again to attack the German goal. Driven by the desire to stifle its opponent, Real Madrid accentuated its domination in the Munich camp. Determined to leave his mark on this meeting, Vinicius Jr once again distinguished himself with a wrapped cross-shot which forced Neuer to relax to keep his team afloat (40th). Saved by their goalkeeper, Bayern Munich managed to hold off their Spanish counterpart at the break.
Real Madrid can thank their new hero: Joselu
After the break, Real Madrid returned with the same intentions as in the first act. Twirling and technically skilled, Vinicius Jr insisted more on the left side of the Munich defense without managing to take it from behind. Dominated but catchy, Bayern responded through an imprecise Davies (47th) then a Kane who was far too isolated to deceive Lunin (54th). Totally at a loss, the Rekordmeister relied on his last rampart. Imperial on his line and in his outings, Neuer disgusted Rodrygo (59th) then Vinicius Jr, notably by making a monstrous save in front of the Brazilian (61st). At a time when Real Madrid were losing ground on the German international, Bayern Munich took the lead against the run of play following a brilliant inspiration from Davies. On a long opening from Kane, the Canadian full-back placed himself on his right foot and fired a brilliant shot to clear Lunin's top corner (0-1, 68th).
Virtually eliminated by a Bavarian team outrageously dominated until now, Real Madrid thought they would come back into the game at the last minute thanks to Valverde, looking out for a corner from Modric (71st). This was without counting on the intervention of the VAR to cancel the Uruguayan's goal for a foul by Nacho on Kimmich at the start of the action. A false joy for the Merengue club which was however still far from having said its last word like this diving header from Vinicius Jr, off target (83rd). Seeing qualification slipping through his fingers, Ancelotti threw his last strength into the battle by favoring ultra-offensive choices with the entries of Brahim Diaz then Joselu. Coaching from the Italian technician which immediately paid off. Watching for ahand fault from Neuer, the 34-year-old striker appeared to crucify the German goalkeeper (1-1, 88th) before doubling the lead by receiving a cross from Rudiger (2-1, 90th). Author of a sensational entry, the Iberian delivered Real Madrid in added time, snatching his qualification for the final down to the wire!
Man of the match: VinÃcius Jr (8): he was the accelerating element of his team. On his left side, he constantly tried to provoke. But De Ligt was watching over the situation. Which did not prevent him from finding Neuer's post (12th) and forcing the opposing goalkeeper to pull out all the stops on a cross shot (40th). Unsustainable in the second period, it was a real nightmare for Kimmich. Offered a huge goal ball to Rodrygo (55th), before slaloming through the German defense and forcing Neuer to save (60th). At the origin of the strike which causes Neuer's error and Joselu's goal (88th).
Real Madrid
- Lunin (6): in the first period, the domination of his team allowed him not to be heavily solicited. Nevertheless, the Ukrainian was able to be attentive and responded to Kane's attempts (28th, 53rd), Mazraoui's long shot (43rd) and Musiala's (66th). Solid this evening, he was however unable to do anything against Davies' missile (68th).
- Carvajal (5.5): back from suspension, he again played duty. Present to annoy the Bavarians when they wanted to play quickly, the full-back saved his team from a strike from Davies (47th).
- Nacho (6): for his last Champions League match at the Bernabéu in the Merengue jersey, the Madrid captain experienced an evening rich in emotions. Strong against Kane, he thought of scoring the equalizing goal for his team. But the VAR deprived him of it for a foul on Kimmich (71st).
- Rüdiger (5.5): facing the Musiala wisp repositioned in the axis, the experienced German had a rather quiet evening. But that was before making a fatal marking error against Davies which allowed the Canadian to open the scoring (68th). He then made up for it by signing the decisive qualifying pass for Joselu (90th).
- Mendy (6): at money time before the list for the Euro, the Frenchman was playing big. Opposed to Sané, he more than responded by extinguishing his German opponent. Very solid, it was almost impassable.
- Valverde (5.5): enormous in his pressing to hinder the Bavarian restarts, the Uruguayan was once again not stingy with his efforts. Essential for suffocating the Munich people. Replaced by Joselu (81st) , hero of the end of the match with a double.
- Kroos (5.5): the merengue metronome was omnipresent. Still very fair in the distribution of the game and valuable on set pieces, he continues to demonstrate that he is indestructible at 34 years old. Replaced by Modric (69th) .
- Tchouaméni (5): his team had control of the leather for a good part of the match and they contained the Bavarians well. But the Frenchman did not particularly shine. Replaced by Camavinga (69th) .
- Bellingham (6): the Englishman will have played under infiltration this evening. Placed in a role of free electron, just behind the duo Rodrygo-Vinicius Jr, the Briton was very available in the heart of the game. Also author of excellent defensive returns on the rare Munich counterattacks, the number 5 had a big volume of play. Replaced by Militão (90th) .
- VinÃcius Jr (8): see above.
- Rodrygo (5): he missed an incredible scoring opportunity after the post found by Vinicius JR (12th) as well as another in the second period (55th). Less prominent than his compatriot in attack, he lacked efficiency. Author of a nice free kick repelled by Neuer (59th). Replaced by Diaz (81st) .
Bayern Munich
- Neuer (6.5): the German giant gave a mixed performance. He made a miraculous save in front of Vinicius (13th), and a reflex on a cross from Vinicius (39th), a dive on Rodrygo's free kick (60th), from Vinicius again (61st). To summarize, Neuer showed all his quality as a goalkeeper, all at 38 years old. Unfortunately, his blunder at the end of the match revived Real Madrid a few seconds before the end of the match, considerably changing the scenario of the match.
- Kimmich (3): the right back was put in difficulty by Vinicius' incessant dribbling, never seeming to be able to stop him. A very delicate match for the German international.
- Dier (4): the Englishman held his position in the first half, but managed to receive several Madrid crosses. He scored at the end of the match on Joselu, scorer of Real Madrid's two goals.
- De Ligt (5): very aggressive on the ball carrier, the Dutchman left too much space to Joselu at the end of the match, with his defense friend.
- Mazraoui (4): the Moroccan, very solid in the first leg, had more difficulties this evening against Rodrygo. The Brazilian's speed confused him on several occasions, and offensively, he showed a lot of waste.
- Pavlović (5): the young midfielder did the work of the shadows this evening, with his midfield friend. He gave a lot of effort, sometimes with excess aggression, but was in the tone of the match.
- Laimer (5.5): his aggressiveness was very valuable in the midfield. The man in the shadows, important for the balance of his team, slowed down as the minutes passed.
- Gnabry (not rated): the winger missed Bayern's first hot situation (8th), before giving way to Alphonso Davies (6.5) . His speed was very interesting on the counterattack. He scored a magnificent goal with the wrong foot on a long serve from Kane. His numerous defensive efforts allowed him to maintain the lead at the end of the match.
- Musiala (5.5): the attacking midfielder once again showed his vision and his technical quality in small spaces. He also put in a lot of defensive effort. Replaced by Müller (85th).
- Sané (4): the German had difficulty connecting with his teammates. Technical errors, wanderings in placement, he was never able to create imbalance. A complicated match for the winger. Replaced by Kim Min-Jae (76th).
- Kane (6.5): the number 9 of Bayern Munich was closer to the goal than in the first leg, but is still comfortable in creating the game. The Englishman was very clean technically when he picked up, and launched his teammates in depth, like his decisive pass for Davies. Replaced by Choupo-Moting (85th).