Joselu gives Real Madrid victory over Bayern-Munich (2-1) and a place in the Champions League final

Joselu, 34 years old, full José Luis Mato Sanmartin, born in Stuttgart and rented from Espanyol, scored in the 88th and 91st minutes. The game ended with commotion, due to an incorrectly disallowed goal by Matthijs de Ligt, which had led to extra time. The outcome brought back memories for defenders De Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui of exactly five years ago, when Ajax lost 2-0 to Spurs after taking a lead, with Lucas Moura scoring three times, the last goal in the 96th minute.

The match was exciting, especially in the second half, and moved at an incredible pace. Vinicius Junior, wearing an undershirt and the text ‘pray for us’, was one of the best football players on the field with his dribbling, speed and passion. Well, with Manuel Neuer, for a while, the 38-year-old Bayern goalkeeper with his unlikely saves. It was a shame for Neuer of all people that he made a horrible mistake in the 88th minute, when he fired Vinicius’ shot with an otherwise difficult bounce, after which Joselu, who came on for Valverde in the 81st minute, tapped the ball.

Joselu, brought in by success coach Carlo Ancelotti, completed German Antonio Rüdiger’s cross moments later, when injury time had already started. Bayern thought it was offside, but Joselu stayed behind the ball. It was bizarre that De Ligt equalized in the fourteenth minute of injury time, although there did not appear to be any offside. The linesman had flagged too early and referee Marciniak took over the signal. Goalkeeper Lunin no longer really did his best to stop the slider.

It is also the end of the era of the sometimes completely over-reacting coach Thomas Tuchel at Bayern, after the club did not win a national title for the first time after eleven championships. Bayern thought they would reach the final for a while. The 0-1 came after a great shot, also from substitute Alphonso Davies. The Canadian replaced the injured Gnabry in the first half. Davies, born in a Ghanaian refugee camp and of Liberian parents, was extremely dangerous in Bayern’s counter-attack and scored in the 68th minute when he cut the ball in after a dribble and hit the ball brilliantly with his right hand, in principle his slightly inferior foot. in the far corner. Bayern was a finalist with this score, after the 2-2 in Munich.

De Ligt was busy

Matthijs de Ligt was busy on Wednesday, in the hot Bernabéu temple, the fabulously renovated stadium in which the roof had been closed. They appeared everywhere, the Real Madrid attackers, with Vinicius Junior as the most dangerous pawn, usually from the left. The Brazilian is one of the most exciting players in world football and as such a constant nuisance for any defender.

De Ligt, who was missing last week due to an injury, made sliding tackles, threw his body in front of the ball, set blocks, sprinted, closed gaps, coached, exactly five years after his previous semi-final, when he played with Ajax in the legendary match half slipped against Tottenham and failed to prevent Lucas Moura’s fatal goal in the 96th minute. Noussair Mazraoui, left back at Bayern, also played against Spurs at the time.

Real was fierce from the kick-off, put pressure and wanted to score quickly. The openness of many matches in the second phase of the Champions League may also be the result of the abolition of the so-called double counting rule from the past, when in the event of a tie between two matches, the goals scored ‘away’ counted double.

That time is over. Real therefore no longer benefited from the 2-2 in Munich and had to score just like Bayern. The closest in the first half was Vinicius, with a shot against the post, briefly touched by goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, who seemed to have regained his previous top form after breaking his leg while skiing, with fantastic saves on shots. of Rodrygo and Vinicius.

Counterattack

Bayern had to rely mainly on counter-attacking in the wonderful, intense match, although the team gradually managed to escape Real’s encirclement and sometimes appeared dangerously in front of Lunin’s goal, including through a volley from Harry Kane and a shot from substitute Davies, substitute for the injured Gnabry. He thought he would decide the game, but Real never gives up, as has been proven countless times, and is going for his fifteenth trophy in the most important tournament in Europe.

Harry Kane, after years at Spurs, remains without a trophy again, now at Bayern, which always wins trophies, except in his first season in Germany.