Real Madrid produced a stunning Champions League comeback to sink Bayern Munich 2-1 and 4-3 on aggregate; Alphonso Davies gave Bayern a lead that they held until 88 minutes, then former Stoke striker Joselu struck twice in three minutes; Real will meet Borussia Dortmund on June 1.
Los Blancos beat German giants Bayern Munich 4-3 on aggregate in the semi-final, extending their unbeaten run to 21 games across all competitions.
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Thomas Tuchel's Bayern thought they were heading into the Wembley final as they led until 88 minutes through Alphonso Davies' second-half stunner, but then Manuel Neuer, who had produced four amazing stops earlier in the game, shockingly spilled Vinicius Junior's shot into substitute Joselu's path to equalise.
Both sides had played a 2-2 draw in the first leg of the tie in Germany, and Bayern went 3-2 ahead in mid-second half at the Bernabeu on Wednesday night.
But a late double by Joselu helped the hosts seal an incredible comeback victory in a thrilling atmosphere to reach the final.
Harry Kane’s cross had found Alphonso Davies cut in and blasted past Andriy Lunin to get the home crowd needing more than just a goal.
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| Harry Kane’s cross orchestrated Bayerns goal |
But Joselu grabbed an 88th-minute equaliser when he reacted quickest after Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer fumbled Vinicius Jr’s effort.
There was drama two minutes later when Joselu swept home from six yards out from Antonio Rudiger’s square pass as the goal had earlier been disallowed for offside.
VAR would later show that Joselu was onside, sparking incredible scenes of celebration in the Bernabeu, with Real hanging on to win 4-3 on aggregate.
14-time European champions Real Madrid will now face Dortmund in the final on Saturday, 1 June at Wembley.
Team news
Real Madrid made nine changes from the team who beat Cadiz at the weekend and only one change from the first leg, with Dani Carvajal returning at right-back over Lucas Vazquez.
Bayern Munich brought back Mattijs De Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui in defence, while Konrad Laimer, Leroy Sane and Jamal Musiala returned in midfield.
Player ratings
Real Madrid: Lunin (7); Carvajal (7), Rudiger (7), Nacho (7), Mendy (6); Valverde (6), Tchouameni (6), Kroos (7), Rodrygo (7), Bellingham (6), Vinicius (8)
Subs: Modric (7), Joselu (9), Diaz (7), Camavinga (6), Militao (n/a)
Bayern Munich: Neuer (7); Kimmich (5), De Ligt (7), Dier (7), Mazraoui (6); Laimer (7), Pavlovic (6); Sane (5), Musiala (6), Gnabry (5); Kane (7)
Subs: Davies (8), Muller (6), Choupo-Moting (6), Kim (4)
Player of the match: Joselu (Real Madrid)
MATCH ANALYSIS
Real came into this clash in buoyant mood after sealing a 36th LaLiga crown with a 3-0 win over Cádiz, while Thomas Tuchel’s side faced a season-defining game after continuing their disappointing domestic campaign with a 3-1 defeat to Stuttgart.
Against the backdrop of a resplendent Bernabéu, Carlo Ancelotti’s side began brighter and came close to breaking the deadlock when Manuel Neuer made a brilliant double save to tip Vinicius Junior’s shot onto the post, before denying Rodrygo on the follow up.
Despite an injury to Serge Gnabry which forced a reshuffle, the visitors threatened soon afterwards, as Harry Kane almost made his mark on this contest with an outstanding first-time volley which was going just wide, but Andriy Lunin was taking no chances and parried the ball behind. Neuer was called into action again to make another superb save to tip away a VinÃcius effort which looked destined for the bottom corner, keeping honours even at the break.
VinÃcius was gaining plenty of joy down the left-hand side and giving the Bayern defence a torrid time as he picked out Rodrygo, who shot wide under pressure from Eric Dier.
The Bavarians had an opening of their own when Kane forced Lunin into another save at his near post, but it was mostly one-way traffic from the Spaniards at the start of the second half. A Real Madrid opener seemed inevitable, with Neuer forced into two more fine saves to keep Rodrygo’s free-kick and superb sole effort from VinÃcius.
However, it was Bayern who struck first courtesy of an absolute rocket of a strike from Davies. The Canada international was picked out by Kane, cut inside off the left flank and unleashed an unstoppable strike past Lunin to score his first UCL goal in some style.
Ancelotti’s side thought they had immediately restored parity when Nacho fired home from Luka Modric’s corner, but the Real skipper saw his effort ruled out as he had shoved Joshua Kimmich in the build-up.
Neuer was having an exceptional match, but inexplicably gifted the hosts an equaliser in the 88th minute when he fumbled a tame VinÃcius effort, with super-sub Joselu slotting the loose ball in to send the Bernabéu into raptures.
Quite remarkably, The Espanyol loanee scored again in stoppage time to complete another trademark Real comeback with a superb instinctive finish from Antonio Rudiger’s cross, with the drama heightened after the goal was initially ruled out for offside.
VAR intervened, and the goal was given, sparking jubilant scenes and setting up a meeting with Borussia Dortmund at Wembley Stadium on June 1st, and presenting Los Blancos with the opportunity to win a record-extending 15th UCL title.
"The good situation is we gave everything. That's the most important thing, then in sport you accept the result."
best match but we said before that we didn't need to be perfect, we just needed to be good enough this evening. The team have everything, we did it together. Then with player out for cramps, we conceded a goal we never concede with our goalkeeper.
"The good situation is we gave everything. That's the most important thing, then in sport you accept the result."
What's next?
LaLiga champions Real Madrid travel to Granada on Saturday in a game which could relegate the 19th-placed club, kick-off 5.30pm.
Bayern Munich are back in Bundesliga action on Sunday when they host Wolfsburg, kick-off 4.30pm.
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