The occasion promised magic and it was provided in spades by Bayern Munich and Real Madrid. This meeting of contrasting styles –Bayern craved control, Real chaos –produced a rollicking first half, a riveting second and looked primed for extra-time when Eduardo Camavinga had a momentary lapse of reason.
It killed hopes of another famous Real Madrid comeback in the Champions League and sent Bayern Munich, 4-3 winners on Wednesday and 6-4 on aggregate, to the semi-final after a match in which they had trailed thrice. The first after 35 seconds seemed to have sucked life out of the Allianz Arena glowing a brilliant red.
Arda Guler showed he was more switched on than Manuel Neuer who was brilliant in the first leg. From 40 yards out, he redirected the goalie’s pass to nowhere with a brilliant first-time shot that curled into the top corner.
The sweeper-keeper, whose out-of-the-box exploits have won Germany and Bayern many matches including the 2014 World Cup round-of-16 tie against Algeria, was spotted looking sheepish, a rare sight. The tie was level, Real ahead on the night with Guler showing on Wednesday that his goal against Elche last month, scored from even further away from goal, was no fluke.
But it would take more than a sucker-punch to faze a team who have won 18 of their last 20 matches and are on course for a treble. Andriy Lunin had issues with set-pieces all night and was left stranded at the first time of asking when Aleksandar Pavlovic nodded home Joshua Kimmich’s flat delivery in the sixth minute. Never before had Real and Bayern scored so soon against each other.
Approaching the half-hour mark, Bayern had won seven corner-kicks but it was Real who went ahead in the 29th. Brahim Diaz drew a foul from Konrad Laimer and with a direct free-kick that Neuer was slow to react to Guler, 21, showed why Real offered him a six-year contract in 2023 and why he is referred to as the Turkish Messi. La Remontada, or the comeback, was on again.
By then the tone for the night had been established. Bayern had more possession and better control. They would patiently probe Real for an opening, like Kimmich did to find Alphonso Davies in the 65th minute. But given the speed and skill of their attacking players, Real were always one turnover away from threatening.
Mbappe’s goal came from a ball delivered to Vinicius Jr by Jude Bellingham. Serge Gnabry’s mis-control led to a clearance and then Kane’s poor first touch had the ball reaching Bellingham. Real thrived on such small errors. Vinicius Jr, who had hit the horizontal earlier, drew three players to him and released Mbappe, who had by then breezed past Upamecano, for his 40th goal of the season.
That came in the 42nd minute, four minutes after Harry Kane got his 50th of 2025-26. It came during a sustained spell of pressure from Bayern and because Vinicius Jr had not got close to Upamecano. The teams Kane hasn’t scored against in Europe this term? Paris St Germain and Arsenal.
Half-time gave not just the players a chance to catch their breath. Trent Alexander-Arnold’s long pass had Mbappe winning a corner-kick. From a follow-up move, Alexander-Arnold again found Mbappe whose volley was stopped by Neuer. Bellingham operated from deep but showed why he can play No.6, No.8 and No.10. He pounced on a Luis Diaz error and found Vinicius Jr in the 62nd minute. Three minutes later, Bellingham made an excellent interception in front of his goal.
By then Jamal Musiala and Camavinga had come on. Camavinga’s brain fade in the 86th minute was like Steve Smith seeking advice from the dressing room on whether a decision should be reviewed. On a yellow for a foul on Musiala, Camavinga felled Kane but was booked for carrying the ball away. Arbeloa saw it differently though. “Because of one decision by the referee, all our hard work has been thrown away,” said the Real head coach. It could mean a rare season without silverware.
A delectable back-heel from Musiala, in his 50th Champions League match, set up Diaz to score his second of the tie, this time off a big deflection off Eder Militao, in the 89th minute. Brilliant in the first leg, Michael Olise kept trying to bend one after driving infield till he got it right in 90+4.
“We had a lot of possession and always had the feeling we could score. But Real Madrid remain Real Madrid. They have very quick players and are always a threat,” said Kompany who will be suspended for the first leg of the semi-final against PSG.
