Champions League win against Arsenal
Kimmich heads Bayern into luck – Tuchel’s team in the semi-finals
Status: 17.04.2024 | Reading time: 3 minutes
FC Bayern Munich wins against Arsenal and is in the semi-finals of the Champions League
What: REUTERS
FC Bayern wins against Arsenal and follows BVB into the semi-finals of the Champions League. There they meet Real Madrid. The Munich team shows their premier class face and earns victory through fight and passion. A German final at Wembley is possible.
Joshua Kimmich has kept FC Bayern Munich’s last chance for the title alive – and German football’s hope of a repeat of the legendary Wembley final. One day after Borussia Dortmund’s furious semi-final entry, the outstanding Kimmich led the German record champions in the Champions League into their first semi-final since then with his powerful header in the 64th minute in a 1-0 (0-0) win against Arsenal FC last premier class triumph of 2020.
After the 2-2 draw in the first leg in London, the Munich team put on an extremely concentrated performance in the exciting second leg. Eleven years after the Königslassen final between Bayern and Dortmund with Arjen Robben’s 2-1 winning goal at London’s Wembley Stadium, a new edition on June 1st has become realistic. Coach Thomas Tuchel still has the possibility of a glorious farewell to Munich even without a championship or cup.
Joshua Kimmich heads the goal of the evening
Source: AP/Matthias Schrader
Tuchel described the duel with the second-place team in the Premier League as “a gift and a privilege”. Above all, it was a high hurdle, and the respect from the people of Munich was correspondingly great. Bayern acted very focused, worked defensively with a lot of dedication, without taking too many risks. Just don’t make any mistakes was the watchword.
Tuchel positions himself defensively
The idea of security was already clear in Tuchel’s starting eleven. After the loss of Serge Gnabry and Kingsley Coman, the coach relied on the Portuguese Raphaël Guerreiro on the left offensive instead of veteran Thomas Müller to slow down the strong right wing from London. The plan worked and there was little danger from the lightning-quick Bukayo Saka.
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In contrast to the furious first leg, a high level of surveillance developed in the first half, which was at the expense of the offensive power. Bayern only got really dangerous once in the first half, when Noussair Mazraoui broke through and his deflected shot went just wide of the goal (23′). Due to the defensive orientation, winger Leroy Sané, who, according to Tuchel, has to fight on due to his pubic bone problems, and striker Harry Kane rarely saw action. Jamal Musiala was also well delivered.
Cheers, hustle and bustle, semi-finals
Source: dpa/Tom Weller
But the same also applied on the other side. A long-range shot from Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard (29th) and an unplaced attempt on goal by Gabriel Martinelli (31st) – national goalkeeper Manuel Neuer didn’t have much more work to do. The 38-year-old returned to goal as usual after Sven Ulreich played as a precaution against Cologne (2-0) at the weekend. Nevertheless, Tuchel disliked the fact that Bayern sometimes retreated too far from the sidelines.
Bayern Munich convinces with will and passion
The game was full of tension, and in the second half there were finally some top-class chances. Bayern were now the more active team. After a cross from the eager Kimmich, Leon Goretzka hit the crossbar with a header, and Guerreiro’s follow-up shot hit the outside post. It was a signal for more Munich courage, which was rewarded after just over an hour. After a fine cross, Kimmich was there with his head and rewarded his strong performance.
Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel (l.) celebrated the victory with unusual emotion
Source: AFP/ODD ANDERSEN
Shortly afterwards, Sané could have even increased the score, but he put the ball over the goal (66th). “Super Bayern, super Bayern,” was what rang through the arena, which wasn’t always the case in this bumpy season. But this time the will, commitment and passion were right. The Munich team hardly allowed anything to happen, and German international Kai Havertz was also completely unregistered from the Gunners.
