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Bayern Munich were knocked out of the Champions League by defending champions Real Madrid in the semi-finals as they lost 4-3 on aggregate. Trailing by a goal from the first leg, Bayern got off to the perfect start when Joshua Kimmich struck early to level the scores.
However, the star of the night was Karim Benzema as he scored a brace to virtually wrap up the tie for Los Blancos until Real loanee James Rodriguez equalised in the 63rd minute against his parent club to keep Bayern's hopes alive. The Bayern defence did a brilliant job of keeping Cristiano Ronaldo quite on the night, limiting him to just one shot on target.
But, the Bavarians couldn't find the net again which would have seen them go through on away goals and had to settle for a 2-2 draw at the Bernabeu losing the tie by a one-goal margin on aggregate.
Here's what went wrong for Bayern Munich in the second leg:
#3 Failure to capitalise on their dominance
Bayern Munich couldn't have asked for a better beginning to the second leg against Real Madrid when they instantly broke the deadlock in the third minute through Joshua Kimmich to even the tie on aggregate and grab that vital away goal.
Bayern were more dominant in the second half since they had the control of the game while Real were more effective on the counter-attack but could not make the Germans pay for their lapse in concentration as they weren't able to convert it into goals.
But, the German Champions could not hold onto the lead long enough when a Marcelo cross found Karim Benzema and the Frenchman headed in eight minutes later cutting short Bayern's brief advantage. Similarly, they fell behind moments after kickoff to the second half following an error from Sven Ulreich and Corentin Tolisso.
The biggest cause for the loss in momentum for Bayern, taking both the legs into consideration, has been them not able to hang on to a lead for a long period of time. They have let in timely goals has helped the Los Blancos get back and have an upper hand in the game just by outscoring.
This particular inability of Bayern Munich has been one of the deciding factors since Real Madrid striking back in an adequate amount of time has derailed Bayern since they have had to reset and re-think which in turn has impacted them in front of goal as they have ruined several chances.
Bayern have maintained their control and momentum in the game over both the games but this hasn't necessarily applied in them getting the end result that they would have wished for. Ultimately, all the dominance they have possessed has proven to be wasteful since they have lacked the final product that has led to their exit from Europe as Real Madrid have made them pay for their mistakes with their excellent defensive organization.
#2 Ulreich's error bites Bayern
The start to the second half for Bayern Munich was a total contrary to the beginning of the first half. Moments after the resumption of the game, Corentin Tolisso found himself in a predicament where he was surrounded by Marco Asensio to his right and an incoming Toni Kroos behind his back.
The Frenchman decided to pass the ball in his own box to Sven Ulreich but what the goalkeeper did was hard to understand. Knowing that he couldn't handle the ball from a back pass, he timidly decided to slide but the ball went underneath his right foot allowing Karim Benzema a free pass on goal as the Real Madrid forward slotted in to give the Los Blancos a 2-1 lead.
However, the part of the blame goes to Tolisso as he showed a lack of composure in clearing the ball and instead passed to Ulreich without assessing the situation that there was going to be pressure put on by the rushing Benzema which ultimately led to this costly error and Bayern falling behind on the aggregate score.
The early goal allowed the Los Blancos a distinct advantage for the rest of the game making it hard for the Bavarians to pull off a comeback from two goals down as it eventually proved to be the deciding factor in Bayern's loss.
#1 Squandering Multiple Opportunities
Bayern Munich did not learn from their first leg loss and repeated the same mistakes at the Santiago Bernabeu too. Once again, the Bavarians were poor in front of goal and failed to capitalize on the numerous chances they created in the second leg.
Bayern attempted a total of 22 shots on the night with only 10 of them being on target. Similarly, they dominated possession having 60% of the ball but failed to make that count as well with their wastefulness in front of goal in spite of Real Madrid goalkeeper Keylor Navas pulling out some heroic saves.
At the same time, credit goes to the Real defence also as they made it very difficult for the Bayern front line to break them down. This impacted the Germans severely as seven of their shots were blocked and were dispossessed 15 times further adding to the frustration of Jupp Heynckes and his men.
Franck Ribery could not replicate his performance from the first game as he completed only one dribble and two successful crosses as well as failing to register a single shot and lost the ball five times. Robert Lewandowski too was below par, completing just 65% of his passes while having only three shots out of the 22 that Bayern attempted in the entire game.
All the chances that were being created were basically going to waste. The second leg looked like a carbon copy of the first leg since Real Madrid did not have any problems in staying back and defending whereas Bayern could not reciprocate to all the opportunities and leeway that was practically gifted to them.
Bayern Munich have only themselves to blame for their shortcomings due to their inability to convert their chances in a big game pressure situation that has led to their downfall. This has ultimately resulted in them getting knocked out in the semi-finals of the Champions League for the fourth time in five seasons as they once again failed to break their jinx against Spanish opposition in Europe.
