The first leg in Germany had ended in a 2–2 draw, so Real Madrid started the match with a slight advantage. The Royal is extremely difficult to beat in the Champions League at the Bernabéu. On Saturday, Thibaut Courtois made his return after months of injuries, but for the cracker against Bayern, Ancelotti opted for the injured Andry Lunin, as expected.
The Ukrainian saw how the home team claimed possession in the initial phase, but the first opportunity still belonged to the Germans. Musiala sent Gnabry into the lane and he saw Kane run free in front of goal, but his cross lacked precision. Real had been warned: giving space to Bayern was dangerous.
Lunin and Neuer stand firm
Real’s answer came quickly. After a throw-in from Rodrygo, Carvajal found Vinicius. His cross shot hit the post via Neuer and in the restart Rodrygo also failed to get past the German goalkeeper. Bayern breathed a sigh of relief, but that was soon followed by a sigh of frustration: Gnabry had to leave injured, Davies took his place.
The Canadian saw how his teammate Kane took a ball, but Lunin pushed the ball into a corner. And the last word before half time also belonged to a goalkeeper. A cross from Vinicius went past everything and everyone, but Neuer was just able to put his fingertips against it. The players went into the changing rooms at 0–0.
Vinicius swirls, but Davies scores
The game continued smoothly after halftime, but Real was the most dangerous team. Vinicius dribbled away, often without a good final pass. When he offered Rodrygo an imposed opportunity, he kicked wide. And when both Brazilians found the frame, Neuer made great saves.
Real were in charge and created opportunities, Bayern seemed nowhere for a while. But against the flow of play, Davies put Bayern ahead with a beautiful bang with his inferior right hand. Barely a few minutes later, Real seemed to be on level terms again, but Nacho too blatantly pushed Kimmich to the ground. VAR intervened and the score remained 0-1.
18th Champions League final
Real needed a final offensive. Vinicius almost crowned his strong match with an equalizer, but he was unable to keep down Rüdiger’s cross. And then Neuer – who had such a good game – suddenly made a mistake on a Vinicius shot: Joselu had followed well and tapped in the equalizer. Bernabéu was in ecstasy.
Bayern had lost the North, the Royal smelled blood. Rüdiger was suddenly free on the left flank, brought the ball across and sure enough: Joselu tapped in. The linesman postponed the party for a while by flagging for offside, but the replay left no doubt and the VAR also saw that: 2–1 for Real, making the Royal team in the Champions League final for the eighteenth time. stands.
