Undefeated at home for over a year, Real Madrid qualified on Wednesday against Bayern Munich in the semi-final of the Champions League. Carlo Ancelotti’s men will meet Borussia Dortmund on June 1 at Wembley.
Real Madrid on the way to a fifteenth European crown. Real Madrid qualified for the Champions League final on Wednesday May 8 at the expense of Bayern Munich in their Bernabeu lair at the end of a high-level meeting that remained undecided for a long time.
From the first minutes, Carlo Ancelotti’s men controlled the midfield and Bayern struggled to exist. On a cross from Carvajal with first intention, Rodrygo is very close to being able to open the score. First alert on the Bavarian goal (5th). The German response came two minutes later when Gnabry, well launched behind the defense, missed his delivery for Harry Kane.
Undefeated since April 2023 on his lawn, the Spanish champion continues his business of asphyxiating the German environment. In its rare phases of possession, a slightly too approximate Bayern struggles to find solutions.
On the contrary, Real are becoming more and more dangerous. Alerted in the heart of the area, Vinicius hits the post then Rodrygo fails against Neuer on the rebound (12th). The equation becomes complicated for the Germans with the exit of the injured Gnabry (25th). Three minutes later, Harry Kane showed that Bayern did not come to play second fiddle at the Bernabeu and unleashed an international class volley at the entrance to the area deflected by the White House goalkeeper (28th).
But it was Real who tightened their grip on the match, helped by an inspired and technically correct Bellingham. Fortunately, Bayern, who are seeking at all costs to save their season after being dispossessed of the German championship title by Bayer Leverkusen, can count on a monumental goalkeeper: Manuel Neuer once again keeps his team afloat by releasing a cross -vicious shot from Vinicius which was flying into the goals.
A new magic trick from Madrid
Returning from the locker room, the first hot situation is again for a twirling Vinicius. The Brazilian eliminates Kimmich on the left side but his retreating cross is pushed back at the last minute by the Bavarian central defense (46th). In the process, Bayern responded with a blocked shot from Davies which fell just above the Madrid crossbar, sending shivers through the entire Bernabeu stadium (48th).
Real continues to push with Rodrygo whose recovery brushes Neuer’s post after a new overflow from the inevitable Vinicius who puts the Bayern defense through an ordeal. If the meeting is pleasant, it still lacks that little grain of madness to capsize the stadium. But Manuel Neuer does not intend to give us this pleasure. On a powerful free kick from Rodrygo, the German goalkeeper relaxes to his full length (55th) then releases a new attempt from Vinicius on the following action (56th).
Real Madrid maintains the pressure but it is Bayern who open the scoring against the run of play. Launched in depth, Davies cuts back to the center and sends a superb curling shot into the goals of Andriy Lunin (68th). Real responds immediately from a corner but Nacho’s goal is canceled for a pusher to the face on Kimmich.
A few minutes later, Harry Kane has the break point but the English international’s shot lands outside the Madrid goalkeeper’s small net (76th). At the end of the meeting, the White House increased its attacks on the German goal. Entering the game, Joselu crucifies Neuer after a gross hand fault. Cruel irony for the man who saved his teammates on several occasions. Then, Joselu doubled the lead on the following action after a cross from the right side (91′).
Real Madrid holds its final. Carlo Ancelotti’s players will meet Borussia Dortmund on June 1 at Wembley with a big favorite label stuck on their jerseys.
Bayern who must absolutely save
Between them, Bayern and/or Real have played in 28 of the 69 finals of the most prestigious European Cup (11 for the Germans and 17 for the Spaniards). And the two clubs have faced each other 26 times, almost always in the knockout phase, but strangely never in the final on neutral ground.
Europe remains the only possibility of winning a trophy this season for Bayern, dispossessed of the national title for the first time since 2013 by Bayer Leverkusen. Opposite, Real already has a hand and a half on La Liga, as it approaches the end of the season with a comfortable lead over the competition.
Crowned Spanish champions this weekend, Real Madrid have history on their side for the Champions League semi-final return against Bayern Munich on Wednesday (9:00 p.m.) at their Santiago Bernabéu stadium, where they have been undefeated for over one year.
If with its 14 continental crowns, Real Madrid is indeed the King of Europe, its Santiago Bernabéu stadium, in its finally finished metal setting, is its fortress.
A legendary venue, scene of the “magical nights” which forged its legend and the irrational “comebacks” of 2022, on the way to its last coronation, against PSG, Chelsea and Manchester City.
This season, everyone, including City, defending champion, and FC Barcelona, reigning Spanish champion, have failed, even after leading the score, joining the long list of victims of the Madrid giant.
A statistic also sums up the extent of the Bavarian challenge, which nevertheless retains all its chances after its draw (2-2) in Munich in the first leg.
Undefeated since April 2023 on its lawn, where it turned the situation around more than once in the final moments, the Merengue club has qualified at its stadium 23 times in the last 24 C1 knockout confrontations (since 1991) after drawing the first leg.
– “Brain teaser” –
“90 minutes at the Bernabéu is very long, for many reasons. In fact, we expect to play several matches in one,” summarized Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola before the quarter-final first leg (3- 3), during which Real came back from behind 3-2 in the second half.
“Every time we give Real Madrid for dead, we always find a way to come back,” summed up Brazilian striker Vinicius after Real qualified at the end of the night and the penalty shootout in Manchester.
Always serene, like its coach Carlo Ancelotti, even when things do not go in its favor, the Madrid club has once again become a formidable machine for winning, and above all for not losing.
A real “headache”, against whom “giving your best version is not enough”, estimates the sports daily Marca in a column.
“The +Blancos+ are developing a resistance to defeat in any circumstance which makes them terribly difficult to face,” adds the newspaper.
Their European journey illustrates this insolent solidity well: Ancelotti’s men are now one match away from Wembley and an improbable chance of a treble, having so far won only one of their five matches in the elimination phase, against Leipzig in the first leg (1-0).
– A “dangerous” Bayern –
To reach a new final and offer themselves a fifteenth big-eared cup, the Merengues will however have to do better than in Munich, warned the Italian technician last week, hailing a German team “dangerous and at its best level”, taken by its two internationals Leroy Sané and Jamal Musiala and the English striker Harry Kane.
The return from suspension of the Spanish full-back Dani Carvajal should help a little to contain the breakthroughs with the ball at the foot of Musiala, while the defensive work of Jude Bellingham will be key to allow Ferland Mendy to slow down the excesses of Sané, scorer at the Allianz Arena.
Offensively, the English midfielder, who became the providential man in the White House at just 20 years old (22 goals, 10 assists, often at key moments), will be particularly scrutinized even though he was diminished in the first leg and n could not influence the meeting.
Bayern for their part only has the Champions League left to save their season, after having ceded the league title, for the first time since 2013, to Bayer Leverkusen.
Thomas Tuchel, forced by the Munich management to leave at the end of the season, hopes to be able to count on the return of the boss of his defense, the Dutchman Matthijs de Ligt, to avoid the defensive errors which led to the two Madrid goals. the Allianz Arena.
ati-tba/mdm
