Well, yes. Real Madrid again. Once again the dead man who rises from the other world amid the collective delirium of the Bernabéu. The 2022 Champions League comeback nights were not only impossible then, they were also impossible to replicate. Except, it seems, for Madrid, who fell behind on the scoreboard after a dominant match, and with Bayern, the old European leader, a legendary competitive beast who spent the night. It didn't matter that they had Tüchel on the bench, who was already in such a situation at Chelsea two years ago. This magical destination in Madrid is inevitable, even if you see it coming, even if you know it. It doesn't matter if it's with Rodrygo, Benzema or Joselu. This time it was the evening of the one who was loaned from Espanyol after relegation and who took the place of the desired Kane. And Joselu, when Kane had just retired to the bench, convinced that everything was ready, caught two and sent Madrid to the 18th European Cup final in their history, the sixth in the last eleven years, where Borussia Dortmund awaits them.
2
Andriy Lunin, Rüdiger, Ferland Mendy, Nacho, Dani Carvajal, Aurelien Tchouameni (Camavinga, min. 69), Federico Valverde (Joselu, min. 80), Jude Bellingham (Eder Militao, min. 99), Kroos (Modric, min. 80). 69), Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo (Brahim Diaz, min. 80)
1
Neuer, Eric Dier, Joshua Kimmich, Matthijs de Ligt, Noussair Mazraoui, Aleksandar Pavlovic, Laimer, Gnabry (Alphonso Davies, min. 27), Sane (Kim Min-Jae, min. 76), Jamal Musiala (Müller, min. 84 ) and Kane (Choupo-Moting, min. 84)
Goals 0-1 min 67: Alphonso Davies. 1-1 mins 87: Joselu. 2-1 mins 90: Joselu.
Referee Szymon Marciniak
Yellow cards Tuchel (min. 97) and Camavinga (min. 100)
Madrid won in the end, as if it was only at the limit that it could finally tune in, as if it saw its rival sufficiently upset only there. But he appeared from the beginning. At 16 seconds, Vinicius, a total agitator, had already stolen a ball, ran to the baseline, forced a corner and set the stands on fire by raising his arms. Real showed the intensity Ancelotti had demanded of them. He took control of the game from the start, determining where it would be played and where Bayern could line up. Vinicius, Rodrygo, and Bellingham took to the skies to steal, with their backs covered by Valverde and Tchouameni, who patrolled Middle-earth without a crumb escaping.
Ancelotti's team stole and played. He touched Vinicius and found him, who seemed ready to devour him at any moment. He asked for all the balls, squeezed out all the runs. Although the sharpest weapon was Carvajal. The first ball he passed was almost touched by Rodrygo as he walked back and forth around the area. Then he found Vinicius in the area with a pipe. The Brazilian turned and shot at the post. The rebound fell to Rodrygo, who tried again, but Neuer prevented the goal from the ground.
Madrid had brought Bayern back with a dose of defensive intensity and another from Toni Kroos. The German directed the operations from his left-tilted platform, and the party waved to where he was dictating. Slightly to the left where Vinicius, Rodrygo, Bellingham and Mendy met. And when that area got stuck, with the Englishman being badly harassed as he received from his back, Kroos lifted his chin to the other side, took aim and hit the chest of Carvajal, or Valverde.
Tüchel's team had few breaks with the ball. When I tried to rest with him. It was more damaging when he didn't eat the play and Sané and Gnabry appeared to fly on the wings, launched by Harry Kane, who dropped away from Nacho's good goal. After half an hour, Gnabry retired injured and his place on the left wing, ahead of Mazraoui, was taken by Alphonso Davies, a racing car.
All this happened supported by a delicate balance in which nothing decisive happened. But the peace did not satisfy Vinicius, who made a counterintuitive move: he retreated to the wing and caused the avalanche. He distanced himself from Dier, who had read his footwork well in the first half, and faced Kimmich. Bayern retreated and the Brazilian crossed the lines as if they were ghosts. It floated. But it didn't bite. Valverde narrowly missed a back pass and Neuer managed to clear a shot from the Brazilian who had just beaten three opponents. Vinicius played with Kimmich, with his teammates and with the stands. The show was his.
Bayern hardly found any rest, but suddenly it was Madrid in the first leg. Kane went back to assist on an exit, got a drag, enough for Davies to appear, and then threw the Canadian into space. He cut inside Rüdiger and landed with his right foot out of Lunin's reach. Ancelotti brought in Modric, Camavinga, Brahim and Joselu. Tüchel removed Sané, a forward, and introduced Kim, a defender.
The stadium, with the memory of the incredible nights of 2022, turned on the emotional mixer, but the Germans hindered the rhythm with falls, cramps and slow withdrawals.
But Vinicius had failed to see how the possibility of a new finale threatened to disappear on the horizon. A desperate shot was taken, as if to drive the ball away, to the center of the goal, into the hands of Neuer, something simple. It slipped away and Joselu pushed for the draw. And after three minutes he pushed in a cross from Rüdiger. It had happened again. Yes.
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