Saul Niguez’s brilliant first-leg goal came back to haunt Bayern Munich as the Bavarians won 2-1 against Atletico Madrid on the night but lost to Diego Simeone’s side on away goals at the Allianz Arena in Munich.
Bayern Munich went into the match looking to overturn a one-goal deficit, with manager Pep Guardiola facing immense pressure from both fans as well as the media over his team selection and tactics in the first leg.
Guardiola’s men dominated possession and dictated the tempo of the game from the very first minute as Atletico Madrid sat back and defended well, looking to break on the counterattack. The hosts drew first blood as Xabi Alonso slotted in a free-kick from the edge of the box past keeper Jan Oblak.
The game took an extremely dramatic turn as penalties were awarded on both sides, with the strikers failing to capitalise. Thomas Muller’s strike was saved by a diving Jan Oblak in the first half while Fernando Torres struck an identical shot late in the second half which was parried away by Manuel Neuer.
Antoine Griezmann got the ever so important away goal for the visitors, twenty minutes before Robert Lewandowski pulled back an equaliser with a header. However, the away goal proved vital in the end as the Rojiblancos booked their place in the UEFA Champions League final for the second time in three years.
Here are five talking points from the game
Outstanding Oblak
Jan Oblak was arguably the top performer of the match as the Slovenian international showed great reflexes, alertness, presence of mind and nerves of steel to steer his side to the final.
Oblak was busy throughout the ninety minutes. The keeper was called on to save Vidal’s effort from distance right in the 19th minute. There wasn’t much that Oblak could do when Alonso opened the scoring as the ball took a wicked deflection off centre-back Jose Gimenez’s leg.
Three minutes later, Gimenez conceded a penalty as he brought down Javi Martinez in the box. The keeper rescued Atleti once again as he went the right way to block Thomas Muller’s shot. Oblak also denied Xabi Alonso on the rebound.
The keeper kept the Bavarians at bay for most parts of the game with a string of crucial saves, proving instrumental in Atletico’s victory.
A battle of tactics
Bayern Munich started the game with blazing guns. The German giants caught Atletico Madrid off guard with their relentless pressing high up the pitch. Franck Ribery and Douglas Costa threatened on the flanks while Muller and Lewandowski continually found gaps in Atletico’s defense.
The Germans rotated possession outside the Atletico box, looking for chinks in the Madrid side’s armory. Full-backs David Alaba and Philipp Lahm were effective upfront on the overlap, while centre-backs Jerome Boateng and Javi Martinez played a high line, supplying diagonal long balls to the men in wide positions.
All this while, Atletico Madrid absorbed pressure brilliantly, continuously outnumbering and isolating Bayern’s front-men whenever they looked to create a chance. There were times when almost nine blue shirts could be seen guarding the Atletico box.
Atletico always looked dangerous on the counterattack, with Antoine Griezmann eventually getting the crucial away goal after the Bavarians lost possession high up the field with very less cover. The Frenchman made no mistake after he was played through on goal by Fernando Torres as he calmly slotted the ball past Manuel Neuer at the near post.
Solid defending, brilliant counterattacking and a great solo performance between the sticks from Jan Oblak ultimately helped the Madrid side make their way to the final.
Drama on the sidelines
Drama is inevitable when Atletico Madrid are playing a crucial game. Los Rojiblancos boss Diego Simeone is quite a character on the sidelines, but he absolutely crossed the line in the match against Bayern.
The controversial manager was involved in a physical tussle with Bayern Munich’s winger Franck Ribery early on in the game, with both of them going for each other’s throats following a heated exchange of words between the Atletico manager and Bayern’s bench.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, the Argentine appeared to have hit one of the representatives of the Atletico team as well.
Semi-final woes continue for Bayern
Pep Guardiola’s Bayern Munich succumbed to a third successive semi-final defeat to a Spanish side in the UEFA Champions League. The Germans last won the coveted prize back in 2013, with Jupp Heynckes at the helm.
In the following year, Bayern lost both away and home to Real Madrid in a 5-0 aggregate demolition at the hands of Los Blancos. This involved a 4-0 humiliation at home as Real’s front-men Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale tormented Bayern’s defence.
2015 saw an injury-ridden Bayern Munich face the might of Luis Enrique’s Barcelona in the semi-finals. The Bavarians travelled to Camp Nou for the first leg, where they lost 3-0, courtesy of Lionel Messi’s brilliant double strike and a late goal from Neymar. Die Roten did manage to win 3-2 in the reverse fixture, but the first-leg’s deficit turned out to be too huge to overcome.
This loss to Atletico Madrid means that Pep Guardiola will be leaving for Manchester City next year without a Champions League trophy with the Bavarians.
Atleti still have work to do
Atletico Madrid go into the final as clear favourites regardless of which team triumphs in the second semi and rightly so. Diego Simeone’s men have managed to knock-out Barcelona and Bayern Munich, two of the best teams in the world on their way to the final of Europe’s elite competition.
With that being said, Simeone’s side still has a lot of work to do. Despite being solid at the back, Bayern Munich did expose chinks in Atletico’s defence. Crowding men into the box did not stop Muller and Lewandowski from finding pockets of space. The duo’s inability to finish on the day and some superb goalkeeping from Oblak bailed Atleti out.
Having emerged victorious over the course of two legs, the Colchoneros must learn from their away defeat in order make sure they don’t throw another European final away.
