The last piece of the UEFA Champions League final will fall into place at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, as Real Madrid host Bayern Munich in the second leg of their semifinal tie (2:45 p.m., FX).
The German side holds a 2-1 advantage after the first leg, with Mario Gomez' late goal accounting for the difference. Mesut Ozil's away goal looms large for Madrid, a team coming off the high of going into Camp Nou and defeating Barcelona over the weekend during an intense edition of El Clasico.
A Madrid win would pit Jose Mourinho's current side against one of his former ones in the final, where a date with Chelsea awaits. Munich, however, could exact revenge for losing to Mourinho's Inter Milan side in the 2010 final by coming up with a result in Spain today, one that would let Munich host the UCL final.
If you will be watching today's match, please feel free to share any thoughts, opinions and some play-by-play in the comments section below. Enjoy the action.
Intent is an ambiguous word where even in a court of law it’s sometimes difficult to prove beyond doubt. Some British announcers imply that all ball to hand encounters lack intent and are therefore not infractions. This is false, and confuses the meaning and spirit of the rules.
Intelligence is often under-rated in sports, some exceptions, Magic, Bird, etal.
But what happened to Granero’s brain when he had the goalie 10 yards out, on his back and the ball at his feet. He decided to fall down.
I didn’t see the whole field but if there was no one to pass to, take the goalie further out in the least. The worst possible decision is to fall down.
Absolutely true, but no way Marcelo was going to be able to do anything with it after that donkey touch.
Oh man i never imagine that would happen.
Schwein macht ‘rein!
I can’t believe 2 German players missed PKs.Oh and congratulations to Bayern and all their fans.
They play Barcelona like that because that is the only way for them to play against Barcelona who will always have at least 70 percent of the possession. Madrid and Bayern are better but they are both counter attacking teams so there is no point putting 10 men behind the ball.
Could be the first Finals match ever with like half the starting players from both teams suspended lol
I think that whoever comes out of this game will run Chelsea into the ground.
Yes, I was taking that into account. Abidal is the other big name player out. Villa, Abidal and Keita are the big players missed. And there is a lot of potential on the bench, but I’d never expect Tello to replace Alexis Sanchez in terms of big game maturity. And against Madrid it showed.
Hahaha imagine a Bayern/Chelsea final! Or in other words, the most glorified reserve match ever.
Gustavo’s hard tackles have taken Ozil out of the match, where he’s looking for the foul and not his mates.
I highly doubt it. Chelsea didn’t even attempt to play against Barcelona at home. Real Madrid has shown they are better that Barca and Bayern will be playing at home.
This has all the ingredients for what could be the worst Champions final ever.
Their situation is not as extreme as Chelsea’s
How is Gomez not tired yet? He looks like the match just started.
You know, Barca DOES have lots of depth, just a series of injuries and other truly unfortunate circumstances (keita) have seriously hamstrung Barca this campaign: Villa and Keita are big misses. Who else notable am I missing?
Bayern is going to be out half their team if they make the final. 3 starters suspended now, 2 in the defense.
These guys are so tired lol, Ronaldo just tried to dribble and fell over.
Real Madrid look exhausted.
It is a testament the officials patience that Gustavo made it to extra time without seeing a card. Think the ref has done a good job of maintaining order.
Agreed and it’s weird because that cross across goal from Benzema when he shouldered that fullback to get to the end line was a TYPICAL Ronaldo type poacher goal. He’s made that back-post run for years with ManU and now Madrid. You have to think THAT really was the best chance to win this game. Ronaldo saw Benzema making that run like 5 seconds (an eternity in soccer time) before the pass was made and I think everyone knew what he was gonna do and what a waste for no one (especially Christy) not to try and get in there.
Yeah, and as stacked as Madrid is even they don’t have a complete second team of world beaters.
And Barcelona has almost no depth. You could definitely see it in the latter half of this season, even more so in these past couple big matches.
This is why it’s so difficult to win multiple trophies. You need lots of depth to pull it off.
Both sides have had crosses go through the box to with no one at the far post, lack of commitment to attack.
As would sliding with your arms out extended, which he did.
Yeah, and it looks like the season is really taking its toll on Madrid. Bayern looks more energized to break when they get the chance.
Madrid and Barcelona look simply exhausted. I wonder how many more games they’ve played than the rest of Europe?
Thanks man, that’s a great comment. I think you’re spot on.
I think everyone on this site knows I love Barcelona. I love watching their game, it’s so exciting.
As for my comment above.. you know people love assumptions. I comment about Robban diving to earn the free kick and somebody responds angrily that I’m somehow biased and Pepe should have been given a penalty for the handball. I mentioned nothing about it yet for some reason people get upset about it and assume I’m attacking their player or whatever.
That’s what happened, and I was reflecting that.
They will play them straight up. Playing Madrid or Bayern is similar to playing Manchester United or Arsenal.
This could very well end up the true final of this Champions League. If Chelsea didn’t come out to play against Barcelona there is no way in hell they’ll play with less than 10 defenders against either of these teams.
Yeah I don’t get it. I think extra time favors Bayern. Not cuz they’re bayern but because theyre the away team. More time to defend deep and then counter.
Looks like Madrid is playing for extra time. Their defense is having a rough time containing Gomez and Robban.
Gomez gets the ball stuck under his feet in the box. They’ve had some great opportunities and they’re just not making the most of them.
It is unbelievable how wasteful Gomez is at times. He could have put this result to bed so many times tonight.
Polo, I think your rhetoric style is misinterpreted by some on this site. Maybe for a few the way your write doesn’t translate well. I know because I am often the same way. You like to write like you talk. So do I. It’s a way of personalizing our prose. That doesn’t mean everyone has to or will agree with you. And who wants that? Intelligent discourse is extemely welcome. But I think people don’t see that your just being passionate and/or reflective with your thoughts. Heck, I don’t even agree with what you say all the time but that’s ok. In summation, just remember its hard to portray exactly what you mean and intend on sites like this. Everyone interprets everything a billion different ways.
Have a good one.
Try read next time, “Real Madrid vs. Bayern Munich: Your RUNNING COMMENTARY.”
Thanks for playing.
Well you certainly haven’t done anything there to put the lie to the idea that you’re irritating. Have a nice time playing commentator. I’ll go elsewhere.
While he might score a wondergoal every now and then, Ronaldo’s free kicks seem to be a waste most of the time.
With their size and athleticism, Madrid would probably be better served trying to put some in a dangerous spot rather than letting Ronaldo wildly strike them.
Cristiano cracks me up. He does his best John Wayne impersonation before blasting a free kick into the stands.