Bayern Munich Tops Real Madrid on Penalties for Trip to Champions League Final

Real Madrid, arguably the most successful club in the world, have been living in the gloom of a heavy cloud hanging over the Bernabeu.  The lofty "we-should-win-multiple-titles-every-year" standards were riding heavily on the shoulders of Madrid's multimillion dollar roster, high-profile coach, socios and fanbase only one week ago.   

Not only have the Madrileños failed to win a La Liga title since 2007-08, and failed to progress to a Champions League final since 2002, they've ceded their hegemonic position at the top of world football to their bitter blaugrana rivals.  The only break in Barcelona's dominance in Spain in the last four years was Madrid's Copa del Rey triumph last May.  And while Barcelona won three Champions League titles from 2005 to 2011, the merengues were stopped at the first knockout round each year from 2006 to 2010 before breaking through to the semifinals last year only to lose to, you guessed it, Barcelona.

But what a difference a week can make.

First, Madrid goes to the Nou Camp on Saturday and beats Barcelona 2-1, not only their first victory in Catalan territory since December 2007, but a win that padded their lead at the top of the Spanish table to seven points, virtually assuring them the Liga title with only four fixtures remaining.

Then today's contest with Bayern Munich, the chance to overcome the 2-1 deficit imposed on them by Mario Gomez's late winner in the first leg, with a victory that would seal their passage back to the Allianz Arena for the Champions League final on May 19th.

In the first leg, it took more than 90 minutes for the teams to combine form three goals; today it only took 27 minutes of end-to-end action.  

Marcelo was the only addition to the lineup that won on the weekend, and his work rate and combinations with Cristiano Ronaldo on the left flank produced immediate results. An overlapping run by Marcelo led to a high, accurate cross to Angel Di Maria, who fired off the volley from the edge of the penalty area. David Alaba handled it while sliding to block the shot and a penalty was rewarded to the home side.  Ronaldo made no mistake from the spot, putting the hosts up early with a side-footed shot, low and and hard to Manuel Neuer's left.

Bayern Munich, hungry to be the first side to play a Champions League final at their home stadium, were quick to reply.  Alaba sped down his own left side and before reaching the byline, crossed in a ball Arjen Robben should of handled even though it bounced up to an awkward hip height.  Instead, he knocked it well over the bar from less than six yards out.  

Bayern again threatened in the 11th minute. Mario Gomez's hard, low shot was too much for Casillas to handle, and he let the rebound spill temptingly in front, only for the on-rushing Ribery to chip it wide of the post.

Employing a furious pace of their own, Madrid responded in the 14th minute.  Ronaldo had started the attack, again from the left side, before Mesut Özil proved his lethal skills. A series of exquisite passes had stretched the Bavarians side to side and as he had done for Real's winner at the Camp Nou, Özil served a perfectly threaded ball through to Ronaldo, who made no mistake, slotting it behind Neuer.

Madrid's advantage was 2-0 in the game, 3-2 in the aggregate score. 

But Bayern was right back on the front foot, peppering Casillas' goal, Gomez finding space behind Madrid's back line.  Their incessant pressure was rewarded in the 27th minute when Pepe brought down the darting Gomez in the box—yellow card for the Portuguese defender, penalty for the Germans. Arjen Robben converted and equalized proceedings in the aggregate score, though, the score line was, and would remain into halftime, 2-1 in favor of Real. 

However, before the halftime whistle came, Gomez was in threatening to strike again. Once from close range, his shot was blocked and his expression when he glanced at the linesman was one of perplexity as to why he was not offsides.  Another time, Robben's cheeky throw-in almost found the big striker behind Madrid's defense before Pepe intervened to break up the opportunity.  And an exciting 45 minutes closed when the free kick Robben earned through considerable embellishment was parried wide of the post by an alert Casillas.

Both squads showed the fatigued signs of the enormity of their efforts in the first half to start the second 45 minutes. The pace was dramatically slower and the game more possession oriented.  Bayern had more of a presence in Madrid's half than the first part of the game.  Robben was the more active of the potent attackers on either side of the ball, working well out on the sidelines, occasionally cutting in, making Casillas the busier of the two keepers.  

Madrid's front three were forced further back by Munich's possession, and Xabi Alonso and Di Maria were unable to thread as many long balls up the wings as in the first half.  Mourinho was the first to make a modification to his starting XI; Di Maria substituted in favor of Kaká in the 74th minute. Still, Madrid's best chances were a Ronaldo free kick, which floated straight into Neuer's gut, and Benzema's side-footed blast over the bar in the 69th minute.  Missed opportunities which would prove costly.

With five minutes left in regulation, again, Robben, over on the left this time, centered to Gomez, who couldn't get the ball from under his feet to trouble the Madrid goal from eight yards away.  Even on the aggregate score, even on away goals, the tension at the Bernabeu unsettling as the game had to be settled in additional time.

Madrid were the more active participants in the first 15 minutes of extra time, crowding the visitor's goal mouth within the first few minutes and committing to the task of pressuring in the midfield. Both sets of players were showing further signs of fatigue, though; the play was choppier with a number of late tackles breaking up the action.  Badstuber and Luiz Gustavo came in stubbornly, getting themselves yellow cards and rendering themselves ineligible to play in Munich's next game.  

Esteban Granero, who came on for Özil at the start of the second extra time period, appealed for a penalty when Neuer came out of his net to defend the Madrid man one-on-one, getting a handful of white jersey before Granero fell to ground. It was Madrid's lone foray into the visitor's zone in a second 15-minute period, which looked to be inevitably heading towards penalties from the first kick.

That's where Madrid's European dreams came to an end.  

Unbelievably, Ronaldo, and then Kaká, missed Madrid's first two penalties, in virtually the same spot. Alaba and Gomez struck for Bayern.  And while Casillas came up with two blocks—first on Toni Kroos and then Philip Lahm—Sebastian Schwensteiger put away Munich's final spot kick to spark a joyous team celebration and send the 4,000 visiting fans high in the Bernabeu's terraces into rapturous song. Munich victorious in a penalty shootout, 3-1.

Madrid, on the verge of a double, the kind the club ordinarily produced, was stopped in the semifinals of this competition for a second straight year.  That Barça met a similar fate last night will serve as little consolation to those in Madrid who wanted European coronation on top of their domestic crown.  Instead, two sides far removed from domestic title chases will dispute the continental crown.  Munich will get the home game they dreamed of against a Chelsea squad that couldn't have possibly imagined they'd progress this far.