Manuel Neuer was the hero for Bayern Munich with two crucial penalty saves to deny Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka as the German reached the final of the Uefa Champions League after a 3-1 spotkicks victory over Real Madrid.
Real Madrid 2 (Cristano Ronaldo 6’ pen, 14’) def Bayern Munich 1 (Robben 27’ pen), Bayern won 3-1 on penalties, tie ended 3-3 on aggregate
The fancied Spaniards raced to a two-goal advantage and appeared on their halfway through the first half, before it all went wrong for Jose Mourinho’s side. Cristiano Ronaldo put them ahead on six minutes, converting a penalty won after David Alaba was harshly adjudged to have handballed Angel di Maria’s off-target strike.
Bayern should’ve responded immediatley but Arjen Robben somehow put the his close-range shot over after Alaba’s driving run down the left flank. And Real made them pay for their miss, when Mesut Ozil pounced on a loose ball to step up Cristiano Ronaldo for his second on 14 minutes.
The Germans rallied again and eventually took control of the game, before Pepe brought down Mario Gomez inside the box from Toni Kroos’ cross, earning Bayern a spotkick. Robben converted although Iker Casillas got a hand to it. Bayern would have the better chances from then on, as Real changed tactics and the second 45 petered out into an unentertaining affair.
Eventually it went to penalties, with Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka both denied by Neuer in Real’s first two penalties, while Bayern converted their’s. But Casillas hauled Real back into it, saving from Kroos and Philipp Lahm before Sergio Ramos blasting well over. Bastian Schweinsteiger then stepped up to send Bayern through.
Manager Reactions
Real boss Jose Mourinho: “This is football. You have to be level-headed when you win and when you lose. The boys were fantastic against a great team. We lacked a bit of potency. It was a very tactical game. At 2-1 both teams were afraid to make an important mistake.”
He added: “The best players, such as Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo, also fail – football is like that, that’s life. We wanted to reach the final and I am sadder for the players than for me. We must be strong.”
Bayern trainer Jupp Heynckes: “The team gave a great performance after the early deficit. Arjen Robben missed a big chance, but Madrid were the better team in the first 15 minutes. We improved afterwards and it was an outstanding display. We knew before that we would need one or two goals to be safe. It was a great performance at this stadium, if you take into account that Madrid won against Barcelona at the weekend.”
He added: “Manuel Neuer was fantastic, he saved two penalties and steered the third one over the bar with his eyes.
Player Reactions
Sergio Ramos: “We left our blood and our souls out there on the pitch such was our effort and all we can say is it is a pity to go out on penalties. [Bayern] were better than us from the spot. “
Pepe: “Going out in that way is hard to take. We did everything we could but were missing the luck that Bayern had in the shoot-out. We are leaving here feeling a little down as we thought we deserved to reach the final.”
Arjen Robben: “We were 2-0 down after just 14 minutes and we managed to recover; we deserve to be in the final. It was a great performance, we did well and you have to congratulate our team.”
Manuel Neuer: “I chose the right corner twice [in the shoot-out] but the reality is you never know which side the opponent will aim for. Of course you need luck in these circumstances.”