There was some doubt pre-match with Gareth Bale starting ahead of Isco but the Welshman put in a solid performance defending & even assisting in one of the goals. The sad news is that Real Madrid midfielder Xabi Alonso received a yellow card (accumulation) & will miss the Final in Lisbon. Bad luck for the player who put in a "blinder" tonight & a huge loss for Real Madrid that will need to fill the important tactical gap.
The first half by Real Madrid was exceptional, brilliant & totally unexpected by the Germans who were neutralized on all fronts. Special mention to young Real Madrid defender Carvajal who "whipped off" the field ( as in the last game ) Franck Ribery. He along with team-mates Pepe & Coentrao kept Bayern Munich at bay all night. But while Bayern Munich was weary of the dangerous Real Madrid counter-attacks they may have overlooked the "aerial" fire-power of the Spaniards.
Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos scored the first from a header in the 16th min & then repeated with another header goal in the 20th min. The Germans were totally rattled when the third goal came upon them when Cristiano Ronaldo scored in the 34th min to concluded a counter-attack that Gareth Bale elaborated & passed onto an incoming Cristiano. A goal the gave CR7 the all time goalscoring record in the UEFA Champions League competition surpassing 14 to go onto 15 goals.
From here Bayern Munich had no choice but to attack & forget about the famous "tiki taka" which as a consequence left spaces in defence. Bayern Coach Guardiola put on Javi Martinez, Goetze & later Pizarro but little could they do to dismantle the Real Madrid tactical set-up. The Spaniards kept creating dangerous occasions often to let the Germans know that they cant get carried away with their endeavour to find goal. Bravely Robben & Kross made attempts but either goalie Casillas & the Madrid defence cleared things. Special mention to Modric who was outstanding, the Croatian is coming of age at Real Madrid.
The final nail in the Bayern "coffin" came in the 89th min when Cristiano Ronaldo executed a free-kick that went under the wall as the Bayern Munich defenders jumped, Bayern goalie Neuer has wrong footed & surprised as the fourth goal raced in. For Cristiano Ronaldo it was his second goal tonight but his 16th goal in Champions League this season out of 10 matches.
The best thing was after this that the referee blew the whistle to let this pass, as Real Madrid qualified for the UEFA Champions League Final in Lisbon the 24th of May. They now await the winner of tomorrows semi-final between Chelsea FC - Atletico de Madrid were things are wide open after the 0 - 0 draw in their 1º leg match. We wish Atletico de Madrid all the luck in the World as there is a possibility of a all Spanish Champions League Final. Stay tuned!
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