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MOTD- Bayern Munich 0-4 Real Madrid (0-5 agg)

By on April 29, 2014


“Hands up if you are in the Champions League final!”

It is not often that a team which keeps 71.5% of possession throughout a two leg tie, no matter who the competition, can lose 5-0 on aggregate and be reduced to a disoriented mess.  Especially when that competition is the Uefa Champions League, with the stage being a semifinal second leg at the Allianz Arena, and the team being Bayern Munich, reigning champions of Europe and perhaps the most solid team tactically in the world.  But tonight was obviously special. La Décima, Real Madrid’s tenth European Cup, now branded as the Champions League, was on the line, just within their reach. They would already have one hand on the memorable title that they have been fighting to win for over a decade, with victory over Bayern and again in the final, which would make them the first team ever to win ten European Cups. So it is safe to assume that Real Madrid’s performance was something special.

The win takes Carlo Ancelotti’s side to their first final since they last won the competition in 2002. With a performance in the finale on par of that they showed tonight, the La Decima could be theirs. Unlike in the cageyfirst leg, this match began at fast pace, suiting the counter-attacking style of Madrid far more than that of possession-oriented Bayern. Just eight minutes into the match, Gareth Bale was given a chance to put Real up and become the hero as Manuel Neuer rushed out of his goal to punch a long ball away, only to flap at the ball and send it to the feet of Bale. However, while Neuer was left stranded and the Bayern goal completely open, the Welshman sliced his first-time side-volley well over the crossbar from nearly forty yards out. Instead, the goal-scoring hero came in the form of perhaps the most unlikely of players on the pitch; Real center-back Sergio Ramos. A quarter-hour in the Spaniard peeled off of his marker, and rose up near the penalty spot to send Luka Modric’s corner into the bottom left corner of the goal with a powerful header.

The goal would have undoubtedly made Ramos a hero by itself – it meant Bayern would have needed to find the back of the net three times to turn the tie around – yet when Ramos found a second just three minutes later he nearly insured that he would go home as man of the match.

So, while Bayern were still dominating possession and attempting to find non-existent holes through their visitors’ defense, Real actually threatened on light night quick breakaways. Twenty-six minutes in Cristiano Ronaldo came inches away from putting the tie to bed on the counter, only to see his low twenty-yard effort flash inches wide of the post. Yet Ronaldo hardly rued the miss for long, just seven minutes later he had a goal of his own. Karim Benzema fed it through to Bale on the break, and the world record signing smartly cut it back across the edge of the box to Ronaldo, who blasted it under Neuer to make it three on the night and four in aggregate. It was already becoming an embarrassment for Bayern, and Real nearly made it worse when Ronaldo caught Neuer out of his goal much like in Bale’s chance early on. Only this time, Ronaldo struck the crossbar with his long range shot.

Yet as the match moved into the second half Bayern’s pressing finally began to wear Real down. Arjen Robben almost scored a consolation goal ten minutes into the second period with a curling shot from the edge of the box that dipped just wide of the frame, before Toni Kroos flashed a shot over the crossbar soon after. But the damage was already done – Real had already sealed the win and the spot in the final. So when Ronaldo netted his second of the match late on via a low daisy-cutting free-kick from the edge of the area that crept under the jumping Bayern wall, it was merely putting the icing on the cake for Madrid and making Guardiola and his men cringe even more.
Man of the Match: Cristiano Ronaldo (However, Sergio Ramos had the biggest impact upon the match)

About Alex Morgan

Alex Morgan, founder of Football Every Day, lives and breaths football from the West Coast of the United States in California. Aside from founding Football Every Day in January of 2013, Alex has also launched his own journalism career and hopes to help others do the same with FBED. He covers the San Jose Earthquakes as a beat reporter for QuakesTalk.com and his work has also been featured in the BBC's Match of the Day Magazine.