3 Things that went wrong for Bayern Munich against Real Madrid
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.