Real Madrid vs. Bayern Munich: Los Blancos Indirectly Undone by Barcelona

After succumbing to Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League semifinals on Wednesday, it seems as though Real Madrid can't escape the long shadow cast by Barcelona.

Even with a bead on their first La Liga title since 2008 after essentially eliminating the Blaugrana with a win in their latest Clasico showdown.

Because Madrid's European fate was eerily reminiscent of Barca's, and because Madrid's ouster may have been Barca's doing, at least in part.

Like their Catalonian adversaries, Los Blancos came into the return leg of their semifinal down a goal on aggregate to an Anglo-Saxan power, with Bayern serving the same role that Chelsea filled opposite Barca. Madrid wasted little time recapturing the advantage with two Cristiano Ronaldo goals in the first 14 minutes, the first on a penalty kick and the second on a defensive lapse by Bayern.

Not unlike Barca, which charged into the lead on first-half finishes by Sergio Busquets and Andres Iniesta before a shock score by Ramires put the Blues back in the driver's seat and Fernando Torres' goal in stoppage time sealed the deal.

Arjen Robben served in that function for Munich on a penalty shot in the 27th minute that drew them even on aggregate and cancelled out Madrid's road goal notched at Allianz Arena last week.

Both Spanish giants were undone on penalties, as well. Lionel Messi could've secured Barca's second consecutive trip to the Champions League final (and third in four years) on a freebie in the 49th minute, but the ball caromed off the crossbar.

Madrid, on the other hand, were undone by whiffs off the feet of Ronaldo, Kaka and Sergio Ramos during the decisive shootout.

Surely, fatigue had something to do with the Merengues' misses, along with good guesses by Bayern keeper Manuel Neuer.

But not just fatigue from playing 120 minutes of football at the Santiago Bernabeu. Madrid's legs appeared to go well before the final whistle was blown, and Jose Mourinho had his five penalty-takers picked out. They struggled to create chances after the initial burst of scoring in the first half.

A nearly unthinkable notion for the most explosive (and most expensive) attack in the world.

But not so absurd when considering that they'd all extended themselves during a hard-fought Clasico at the Nou Camp this past Saturday, from which Madrid emerged with a 2-1 win. After all, getting off 14 shots with just 28 percent of possession (and defending Barca's tiki taka for the other 72 percent) requires an immense expense of energy, one that appeared to leave Los Blancos at a deficit against Bayern.

And without fresh legs, Madrid's stars failed to put much pressure, if any, on Bayern's back line and couldn't quite muster up the proper force to put the ball past Neuer on penalties.

It would seem, then, that Real Madrid can only lose when Barcelona is involved, no matter what the scoreboard might read.

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