Bayern Munich 4 Real Madrid 3(6-4)
Yet another game of the season contender in the Champions League. We were treated to yet another classic tonight as Bayern left it late to make it past a much improved Real Madrid side, an early mistake in the 1st minute by Manuel Neuer left the goal open for Arda Guler who finished magnificently from miles out to bring Madrid level just seconds into the game. It didn’t take long for Bayern to go back in front on aggregate as Kimmich fired a missile into the box from a corner as Pavlovic headed in from about two yards out in the 6th minute, then Madrid went back in front on the night from a free-kick as Arda Guler grabbed his second firing over the wall as Neuer was scrambling and couldn’t keep the ball out. Just ten minutes later Bayern went back in front in the tie as Upamecano went on a marauding run eventually finding Harry Kane in the box who finished magnificently past Lunin as Bayern went back in front in the 38th minute, the first half drama wasn’t finished however as Vinicius Junior was sent away on the left-hand-side facing Tah with the Brazillian finding Mbappe in the box who slotted past Neuer to bring the tie level yet again on aggregate before half time.
One stupid mistake costs Real Madrid the tie. The second half had to slow down eventually and the game fell into a pattern of Bayern dominating possession as Madrid looked to counter which led to chances for both sides as both Vini and Mbappe missed guilt edge chances, Bayern also created chances for Luis Diaz and Upamecano but it took until the 86th minute for the drama to resume as Camavinga was given a second yellow card and was sent off for delaying the restart after fouling Harry Kane in the Bayern half, a pretty harsh second yellow in my opinion but the ref had no choice after forgetting he issued Camavinga a yellow card just eight minutes before. Bayern were obviously buoyed by the sending off and scored the winner just three minutes after Musiala flicked the ball back to Luis Diaz on the edge of the box who’s shot took a deflection off Militao to find its way past Lunin, then as Madrid flooded everyone forward in search for an equaliser Bayern broke away as Kane found Olise on the right who cut in and fired a beauty into the top corner to put the icing on the cake for Bayern after a brilliant game of football.
A step down from last weeks performance for Bayern. Obviously Bayern Munich are going to be delighted with going through to the semi-finals but there were worrying signs in this game for Kompany’s team, Madrid cut them apart multiple times especially in the first half when Vini and Mbappe caused serious problems on the counter but Upamecano was excellent dealing with Vini down that left all night. Harry Kane yet again continues his ridiculous season grabbing a goal and assist which proved crucial in the end in a game which didn’t stop especially in the first half, the wing pairing of Diaz and Olise weren’t as impactful as last week but scored the decisive goals to get Bayern over the line when it looked like we were going to extra-time. At the back I thought Upamecano was excellent but the rest had pretty poor games in particular Manuel Neuer who was man of the match last week gifting Madrid the opening goal and I also thought he could have done better for the free-kick but maybe that’s me being harsh, overall Bayern will be buzzing to get over the line in an electric quarter-final.
A much better performance from Real Madrid. I don’t think there was many people that saw Real Madrid coming back today including me but they came so close to pulling off the comeback in the second half, Vini and Mbappe both missed great chances to put Madrid back in front but it was Camavinga that ultimately cost his team on the night with a stupid second yellow despite it being a tad harsh. The two standouts for me were Jude Bellingham and Trent Alexander-Arnold who really made the difference today with Jude really making the difference in midfield tonight compared to last week when Pitarch really struggled in there, Trent overall locked Luis Diaz up until the end when the Colombian scored a brilliant goal to win the tie for Bayern. The Real Madrid full-back was so unlucky not to get an assist as he speared a magical ball to Mbappe from right to left but the Frenchman could only hit the ball straight at Neuer, overall one stupid decision probably cost Madrid on the night but they can take a lot from that performance tonight.
Get the popcorn out for Bayern Munich vs PSG, I cannot wait for this tie in a couple of weeks between the two best sides in Europe in my opinion this season. As much as the storyline of Mbappe facing his old club in PSG would have been a great tie I think this matchup will be a better watch for the neutral without wanting to jinx anything, in my opinion I think its a pure 50/50 matchup between the two sides with PSG maybe being slight favourites with their experience from last season. Whoever goes through between the two will go into the final as favourites up against either Arsenal or Atletico Madrid, whatever happens I hope the tie lives up to the expectation and I’m sure it will in a few weeks, stay tuned.