In the history of the Champions League, Real Madrid has been the most successful club. In the 67 years the competition has been played, the Spanish giant has competed in 43 editions of the competition, winning it 14 of those times.
In those 43 years, the club has played 488 games and won 293, the most of any club in the competition on both counts.
This season, the most successful club in the competition, has played 12 matches including the group stages, and is the only club that has remained unbeaten so far with eight wins and four draws. The club scored 26 goals and conceded 15 in those 12 games.
A Goaless First Half At The Bernabéu
Real Madrid made a fast start in the first minute of the match after a misplaced pass from Leroy Sané immediately after kick-off set Vinicius Jr. on the run towards the Bayern Munich penalty area.
In the 13th minute, a controversial moment occurred when two balls were in play at the same time on the pitch. Carvajal made a quick throw with one ball while Serge Gnabry was chasing down the other which Anthony Rudiger was retrieving. The fast attack that ensued resulted in a double save by Manuel Neuer from Vinicius Jr. and Rodrygo.
Gnabry was then substituted after an injury and replaced by Alphonso Davies in the 27th minute. Almost a minute later, Harry Kane had a shot saved narrowly wide by the Real Madrid goalkeeper, Lunin.
Bayern Munich Inches Away From A German Final
In the second half, Bayern Munich started in fiery fashion, pressing forward in the first minute of the second half with a diagonal pass from Harry Kane to Alphonso Davies who was bombing down the left channel. The Canadian left-footed player drove into the box and fired a deflected shot over the bar.
Six minutes later, Joshua Kimmich sent a long pass forward to Harry Kane. The Englishman shrugged off the challenge of Real Madrid’s left back, Ferland Mendy, and released a shot on goal that Lunin handled comfortably.
What followed was Vinicius Jr. acting further wide, and closer to the left touchline where he made a few consecutive damaging runs that the Bayern defense found difficult to handle, including dangerous cutbacks into the Bayern defense.
After a free kick from Rodrygo and a shot from Vinicius Jr. from one of his trademark runs were saved both in the 59th minute by Neuer, Bayern flipped the switch on Real Madrid.
In the 66th minute, another Bayern move materialized from Alphonso Davies, leading to a shot from Jamal Musiala being saved by Lunin.
One minute later, Harry Kane sent a long pass over the Real Madrid defense for Alphonso Davies to run up to. The Canadian then cut into the box on his right foot, with Dani Carvajal and Anthony Rudiger bearing down on him, and fired a powerful right-footed drive into the side of Lunin’s net to give Bayern the advantage in the tie.
For Harry Kane, this assist made it 12 goal contributions for the UCL season, the most for an Englishman in a single season in the competition.
Also Read: Premier League’s Nominees For Young Player Of The Year Award Includes Special Talents
Real Madrid Substitutions And A Comeback Win
Two minutes later, Real Madrid thought they had equalized through an own goal, but after a VAR review, the goal was disallowed as Nacho was adjudged to have pushed Kimmich.
In the 80th minute, Carlo Ancelotti made a double substitution, bringing Joselu and Brahim Diaz on for Rodrygo and Federico Valverde.
Eight minutes later, Vinicius Jr. received the ball on the left wing again and feigned his trademark run to open up space for himself to shoot. Neuer then spilled the shot and the alert Joselu bundled it on the rebound into the net to equalize for Real Madrid. The Bernabéu erupted.
Two minutes later, from a corner, the ball ricocheted to Nacho inside the box, and surrounded by five Bayern defenders, the club captain passed it to the left side of the Bayern box where Rudiger was waiting. At this moment, the whole of Bernabéu was on the edge of their seats.
The German defender released the pass as soon as the ball got to his feet, with his left foot into the 6-yard box to the waiting Joselu. The 34-year-old Real Madrid hero then tapped the ball into the empty net in front of him to complete Madrid’s remarkable turnaround. After a 2-minute VAR check, the goal stood.
Eight minutes into the injury time, a controversial moment occurred where a pass was played to Thomas Muller and the linesman raised his flag for offside immediately instead of allowing the play to finish before raising his flag.
Although the ball ended up in the net from Matthias De Ligt, the goal didn’t stand and couldn’t be checked by VAR as the referee’s whistle had gone before it entered the net.
About the Author
Ebenezer has been an avid writer for over a decade and a half. Within that period, he has garnered experience in various fields such as editing, graphics design, transcribing, sales, data analysis, and football management.
Check us out on X @TotalApexEandG and @TotalApexSports, and our other sites: Total Apex Entertainment, Total Apex Sports, Total Apex Gaming, Total Apex Sports Bets, and Total Apex Fantasy Sports. For more articles by Ebenezer Ugorji, click here and here!
