Real Madrid Advances to Champions League Final with Controversy Against Bayern Munich: Neuer’s Mistake and VAR Drama

Real Madrid will face Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League final after overcoming a heart-stopping tie against Bayern Munich, in which they were at a disadvantage until the 87th minute, but the mystique of an unwavering team was present to begin the match. comeback thanks to an unexpected mistake by Manuel Neuer on the pitch of the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.

The goalkeeper showed a hesitant response to a medium-distance shot made by Vinicius Jr. in the left corner of the area and Joselu did not forgive the rebound to score the first of his two goals in the final 2-1 in Spain. After the match, the world champion with Germany in 2014 tried to give an explanation for what happened, but ended up making excuses for an alleged imperfection of the playing field: “I have to say that I expected the ball in a different way, more toward my chest.” . “It went a little higher and I didn’t expect there to be a small ‘molecule’ in the grass.”

The term refers to a mole burrow, but in the repetitions provided by the official broadcast, it is not possible to see an unevenness in the surface that would change the trajectory of the ball. “This 1-1 was brutal. It is very bitter to be eliminated in this way with a 0-1 score until the 85th minute of the game. We were already one step ahead, we saw ourselves in the final, there are no words,” said the Bavarians captain about the key mistake.

Bayern coach, Thomas Tuchel, avoided putting the blame on his team’s reference: “Out of 10,000 times, Manu saves the ball 10,000 times. This was number 10,001. It is practically ruled out that Manu makes a mistake. And he commits it precisely today after a world-class game. “That is very bitter.” The club’s sporting director, Max Eberl, was on the same page: “It’s tragic, especially considering that he kept us in the game with all of his saves. And then what happened happens. “Zero reproaches.”

* The summary of Real Madrid’s victory

Oliver Kahn, former CEO of Bayern Munich between 2021 and 2023, who watched the match in the Bernabéu box as Merengue’s guest of honor, compared Manuel Neuer’s mistake with his own in the first of the two goals scored by Ronaldo in the final lost by Germany against Brazil (0-2) 22 years ago in a World Cup: “In 2002 we still had time ahead of us. Unfortunately, Manuel made a mistake in the 88th minute. Before that he made great saves. That is part of the brutal life of the goalkeeper. But Manuel has enough experience to face it. “Bayern was close, I feel sorry for the boys.”

It is not the first formalized criticism of the state of the grass, which could host the 2030 World Cup final (it will be organized by Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Spain, Portugal and Morocco), because the Manchester City manager, Pep Guardiola had raised his voice after the match tied 3-3 in the first leg of the quarterfinals: “When I played it was a carpet and today it is not like that. I guess they’ll fix it, they just have to take care of the grass, they just have to improve that.”

Rodri, a Ciudadanos player, also complained: “It has hurt our way of playing, we don’t make excuses, but it is true that it was not right. From above, it has sometimes happened to me that I cannot see the perspective at the foot of the field. “He got up, he was not uniform.”

On the other hand, Manuel Neuer spoke about the great controversy that the duel left: the goal invalidated by Matthijs de Ligt due to an offside, charged prior to the final shot, which is why the play could not be reviewed in the VAR : “The referee let himself be infected by refereeing a match at the Bernabéu. He has to be true to himself. “That can’t happen at this level.”

2024-05-09 20:33:00
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