Real 2-2 Bayern: Benzema shines to bring Real to the final
Karim Benzema's double and a series of mistakes and misses from Bayern helped Real reach the Champions League final for the third consecutive time.
With a 1-2 home defeat in the first leg, Bayern had no choice but to attack from the very first minutes of the return leg at the Bernabeu. Bayern's preemptive tactics paid off early on.
In the 3rd minute, Sergio Ramos unsafely cleared the ball from a Bayern player's cross. The ball found the feet of Joshua Kimmich who was standing in the penalty area and the German defender did not miss the opportunity to score the opening goal for the away team. This was Kimmich's 4th goal in the Champions League this season.
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| Kimmich opened the scoring of the match |
But Bayern did not keep the advantage for long. Just 8 minutes later, Real equalized. Starting from an attack on the left wing, Marcelo crossed the ball inside for Karim Benzema to head into Bayern's net. The main fault for this goal belonged to David Alaba when the Austrian defender "forgot" Benzema.
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Benzema headed the ball into Bayern's net. |
In the remaining minutes of the first half, Bayern pushed up their attack but could not score another goal against Real. Both teams went into the break with a 1-1 draw.
In the second half, when Bayern had not yet organized an attack, their defense made a mistake. From Corentin Tolisso's careless pass, goalkeeper Sven Ulreich rushed out to receive the ball but... slipped. Ulreich's mistake created an opportunity for Benzema to finish into an empty net, raising the score to 2-1 for Real.
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| Ulreich's mistake allowed Benzema to score. |
At this point, Bayern needed two more goals to secure a ticket to the final. But all they could muster was one goal from James Rodriguez in the 63rd minute.
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| James did not celebrate when he scored against Real. |
In the end, Real defeated Bayern 4-3 after 2 matches and entered the final for the 3rd consecutive time, and the 4th final in the last 5 seasons of the Royal team.
Line-up
Real:Navas; Lucas, Varane, Ramos, Marcelo, Modric, Kroos, Kovacic (Casemiro 72'), Asensio (Nacho 88'); Ronaldo, Benzema (Bale 72' )
Bayern: Ulreich; Kimmich, Suele, Hummels, Alaba; Tolisso (Wagner 75'), Thiago, Mueller, James (Martinez 84'), Ribery, Lewandowski.
