Die Folgen: Bayern’s 4-3 win over Real Madrid (Bavarian Football Works)
It was never going to be easy.
Bayern Munich and Real Madrid engaged in a rollicking, heavyweight brawl between two teams with an insatiable desire to knock out the other.
In the end, Vincent Kompany’s squad was able to pick up the 4-3 victory (6-4 on aggregate) over Real Madrid, eliminating Los Blancos from the competition. So much went on during this battle, so let’s get into it, here are some quick hitters on the match:
- As always, let’s begin with a look at the starting XI:
- I honestly thought that the injuries would force Kompany to make some moves — primarily Jamal Musiala or Alphonso Davies, but I was all good with running back the same XI as the first leg. In the end, having the option of Musiala and Davies on the bench was the best way to go and it would eventually pay dividends.
- What was not the best, however, was an absolute howler given up by Manuel Neuer just a minute into the game. Neuer horribly misplaced a pass to his right, which landed on the foot of Arda Güler. Güler’s long-rage shot sailed into the empty net for an early 1-0 lead for Real Madrid.
- What a disastrous start, but the Bavarians had a quick response thanks to a Joshua Kimmich corner (!?). Yes, the much-maligned Kimmich sent a dipping line drive to center of the goal box and it met the head of Aleksandar Pavlović, who outmuscled Trent Alexander-Arnold for the goal. The kid has clearly hit the gym. Real Madrid goalkeeper Andriy Lunin could have played that a lot differently, but it worked out for Bayern Munich.
- It also marked the beginning of the (bleep)housery of Vinícius Júnior and his mates. Vinícius Júnior immediately answered by throwing two cheap shots at Kimmich. First, the Real Madrid star shoved Kimmich down from behind, then he knocked him down as he tried to get up. This was the start of a lot of nonsense, which — in the end — would work against Real Madrid:
- After the two early scores, Bayern Munich clearly was the better team and handled the adversity better for a stretch, but Real Madrid was undeterred. You have to give the collective mindset of the squad a lot of credit for not just crumbling when things looked bad.
- In the 20th minute, though, Real Madrid almost sprung Kylian Mbappé because Konrad Laimer played him onside. The Austrian, though, made a superb recovery run to thwart the play. Yikes.
- The pace of play was frantic as you could see that neither team was overly comfortable and each was also very wary of the opposition.
- Kimmich had a nice shot in the 27th minute, but Lunin slapped it out for a corner.
- In the 29th minute, Güler struck again with his elder abuse of Neuer (the poor guy turns 40 and Güler ran him through the ringer). The youngster unleashed a curling free kick that took advantage of Neuer’s really poor positioning for another goal and a 2-1 lead.
- In the 38th minute, Kane would knot the game for Bayern Munich with a terrific finish after a great pass from Dayot Upamecano.
- Minutes later, Vinícius Júnior hit the crossbar. The game was just one wild swing of emotion after another.
- In the 42nd minute, though, Real Madrid was off on a break and Vinícius Júnior slid a pass to Mbappé, who smoked Upamecano in a foot race down the pitch to give Real Madrid a 3-2 lead. Insanity…total insanity. It was a bad look for Upamecano on the play, but you really have to understand — defending Mbappé is near-impossible. Upamecano did have some fine moments to go with those scary times.
- Before the goal, Antonio Rüdiger definitely fouled Josip Stanišić and play was allowed to go on, which would be a really important blown call.
- Bayern Munich’s defense was just not equipped to deal with what it was facing. There is no way to sugarcoat it, Neuer’s two gaffes were absolute killers and while no one would likely ever admit it, they had to be weighing on the team heavily. The teams entered halftime with Los Blancos leading 3-2.
- One of the key factors of the first half was the inability of Michael Olise and Luis Díaz to make an impact.
- Stanišić picked up an injury at the end of the first half and was subbed off to start the second half in favor of Alphonso Davies:
- Neuer had a big save early in the second half, but it was very clear that Bayern Munich’s defense was going to be an issue. The offense needed to score.
- Jamal Musiala came into the game in the 61st minute and turned in a solid shift. He did not force things or look like an ill-fit with the rest of the attackers.
- Díaz’s struggles continued in the 62nd minute when he was fed a perfect pass and took too long to shoot at a time when he just needed to one-touch it. Luckily, he would eventually get redemption.
- Right around that time, Bayern Munich seemed to make a conscious decision to slow the game down and mitigate the constant rushes at its backline.
- Neuer came up big again with a save in the 66th minute on Fede Valverde.
- Olise whipped in a good shot in the 68th minute but Lunin saved it away.
- Rüdiger got away with murder in the game. The only card he got was for running his mouth.
- Olise sent another good look just over the crossbar in the 77th minute. Something eventually had to go in, right? Well…hold on.
- Throughout the game, Real Madrid was very handsy and the referee was reluctant to card anyone at times…but Eduardo Camavinga picked up his second yellow — not for a pretty obvious yellow card-type foul, but for picking up the ball and holding it as he walked away. What a dolt move in that situation when he was already skating on thin ice.
- In the 89th minute, Díaz immediately knotted the game for Bayern Munich with an amazing rip from outside the box to make 3-3 (4-3 on aggregate). Musiala provided the assist on the play with nifty little pass on a give-and-go. After a quiet game, Díaz brought the thunder for the tie-clinching goal.
- In the 4th minute of added time, Olise iced it by nailing the same kind of shot he missed earlier in the match.
- Camavinga is going to have a tough time sleeping tonight.
- Afterward, Real Madrid went after the referee crew, which was a horrible look.
- Overall, this was about as insane of a game as we have seen in a LONG time. I mean…it was beyond crazy. Yes, Bayern Munich was fortunate and yes, Real Madrid was totally up for this game…but to win this thing it was always going to come down to which team was toughest mentally and that was Bayern Munich. The Bavarians have exorcised some demons, but the journey to UCL glory is far from over. For now, it is time to bask in this victory, and then the focus will quickly shift to Paris Saint-Germain.
If you missed our Initial Analysis, Match Awards, Observations, or Postgame Podcast, give them a look or a listen:
Gunners eyeing Gordon, too (ESPN)
In addition to (apparently) Bayern Munich, Arsenal is also interested in Newcastle United winger Anthony Gordon:
Arsenal have scouted Newcastle United winger Anthony Gordon ahead of a potential move, according to TEAMtalk. The England international is one of several wingers Arsenal are said to have shortlisted, with Atlético Madrid’s Julián Álvarez their “dream” target. Gordon, 25, is keen to compete at the highest level and would reportedly relish the prospect of working with Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta. The former Everton player, who has also been linked with interest from Liverpool, scored 10 goals in Newcastle’s UEFA Champions League campaign this season.
LFC, Real on Schlotterbeck’s list (Sky Germany’s Florian Plettenberg)
Well, Borussia Dortmund REALLY wanted to stick it to Bayern Munich is seems:
🚨👀 Now confirmed, as revealed yesterday on our show Transfer Update: Liverpool (alongside Real Madrid) are also one of the few clubs that can activate a release clause for Nico Schlotterbeck this summer. The fee is around €50-60 million. #LFC
The release clause is not valid for the entire summer transfer window. According to @M_Wessing, it expires around the time of the World Cup final (19 July).
Füllkrug will be on the move this summer (Transfer journalist Fabrizio Romano)
Niclas Füllkrug will not be sticking around AC Milan after this season and likely will exit his parent club, West Ham as well:
🚨🇩🇪 Niclas Füllkrug, expected to leave AC Milan in June without plans to activate €5m buy option clause.
Füllkrug would return to West Ham and then leave the club again.
To buy a little time until you really need to invest in a striker of the future, would you consider Füllkrug to back up Harry Kane next season?
Silva has options for move (ESPN)
If Manchester City star Bernardo Silva leaves the club, he could have offers from FC Barcelona, Juventus, Galatasaray, Benfica and the Saudis:
Barcelona, Juventus, Galatasaray, Benfica and clubs from the Saudi Pro League are all in the race to sign Manchester City midfielder Bernardo Silva when his contract expires at the end of this season, as reported by Nicolo Schira. Silva, 31, looks set to leave City, which has resulted in a host of clubs showing an interest in signing the Portugal international.
Kim, Goretzka both headed to Milan? (Goal)
For weeks, we have seen Bayern Munich midfielder Leon Goretzka linked to AC Milan, but one of his teammates — center-back Kim Min-jae — is also on the Serie A club’s radar:
AC Milan are reportedly pursuing two Bayern Munich players. Leon Goretzka is set to arrive on a free transfer this summer, while Min-Jae Kim is also said to be high on their wish list.
The centre-back, currently third in Vincent Kompany’s pecking order behind Dayot Upamecano and Jonathan Tah, has long been linked with a return to Serie A. In 2023 the South Korean moved from SSC Napoli to Munich for a reported €50 million after an outstanding season.
Although his contract runs until 2028, Bayern would likely not block a transfer, having already considered letting him leave last summer. Kim chose to stay and has reportedly accepted his current role, but that assessment could change once the season ends.
Both Goretzka and Kim would have to take steep pay cuts to go to AC Milan. Would they be willing to do that? Goretzka might be because of his age (which sounds crazy because he is only 31), but Kim is still in his prime and likely makes far more in Bavaria than he could get anywhere else.
If you are looking for more Bayern Munich and German national team coverage, check out the latest episodes of Bavarian Podcast Works, which you can get on Acast, Spotify, Apple, or any leading podcast distributor…
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