Espanyol loanee, Joselu, sparked wild scenes inside the Bernabeu with his late brace to send Real Madrid through to the 2024 UEFA Champions League final at Wembley.
Until the 88th minute when Joselu did the damage with Real Madrid’s equalizer, there was the possibility of an all-German final, after Borussia Dortmund booked their ticket to Wembley on Tuesday.
Bayern’s rivals, Dortmund, defeated Paris Saint-Germain over two legs by an aggregate score of 2-0, beating the French champions home and away.
Real Madrid, chasing a 15th crown, are never going to let any opportunity slip, and having drawn 2-2 in Munich, they knew they had the advantage with the Bernabeu crowd in the return leg.
Buoyed by the home support, Real Madrid started the brighter of the two.
Coach Carlo Ancelotti had said after the draw in Munich that his Los Blancos side were soft.
They got the memo from the coach and certainly were not going to be soft this time.
Real Madrid came into the match all fired up after putting 3 goals past Cadiz in a La Liga game over the weekend.
They also won their 36th La Liga title after Girona humbled Barcelona.
Meanwhile, Bayern Munich got beaten 3-1 by Stuttgart in the German Bundesliga, coming into the second-leg tie with Los Blancos.
Starting the game brightly, Real Madrid could have opened the scoring early on, but Manuel Neuer denied both Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo with two impressive respective saves from the Brazilians.
If Bayern Munich needed any reminding that Real Madrid meant business, this was it. Los Blancos’ dominance didn’t end there, as they searched for the lead.
Harry Kane tested young Real Madrid goalkeeper Andriy Lunin with a first-time volley, but the Ukrainian was up to the task, tipping the ball away for a Bayern corner.
This was just moments after Serge Gnabry was forced off the pitch injured. Alphonso Davies replaced the German.
Meanwhile, moments after Hary Kane tested Lunin, Manuel Neuer would deny Vinicius Junior again, as the game remained poised at 0-0 at halftime.
At the start of the second half, Los Blancos continued their dominance, with Vinicius Junior, particularly, giving the Bayern defence a torrid time down the left-hand side.
For some moments, it was Real’s forwards versus Neuer, sort of. The German keeper did well to keep out Rodrygo’s freekick, and then made another crucial save from the impressive Vinicius Junior.
The moment of the game, though, was produced by the Bavarians.
Substitute, Alphonso Davies collected a pass from Harry Kane on the left flank, switched it to his weaker right foot, and unleashed a thunderbolt of a short that Anriy Lunin could not keep out, breaking the deadlock after 68 minutes.
Real Madrid have had the greater share of chances, but found themselves behind–Bernabeu was shocked, and Los Blancos faithful feared the worst.
The fresh La Liga champions have always had it in them to find a way in Champions League games when things get tough.
They have had to do it the hard way against Manchester City over two legs and again in the first leg of the semi-final game at the Allianz Arena, so many trusted them to do something after going down 1-0 to Bayern Munich.
Immediately following Alphonso Davies’ rocket that shook the Bernabeu crowd was a moment of ecstasy for the Los Blanco’s faithful, shortlived though it was.
Nacho scored from a Luka Modric corner but the goal was ruled out by the VAR. Carlo Ancelotti’s men’s hearts were broken.
The Madrid skipper had committed a foul on Joshua Kimmich before the ball hit the Bayern Munich net.
With the game heading Bayern’s way, who had been leading 3-2 on aggregate, and 1-0 on the night, Carlo Ancelotti had to wave his magic wand.
The Italian multiple-Champions-League-winning coach called on his bench, bringing on Joselu for Federico Valverde after 81 minutes.
Seven minutes into his time after coming off the bench for Real Madrid, Joselu sparked wild scenes in the Bernabeu, as he got Los Blancos’ equalizer in the 88th minute.
👀 ¡SIGUE TODO EL POSPARTIDO, GRATIS, EN #RMPLAY!
👉 https://t.co/sRyh3ypnSA#UCL | #APorLa15 pic.twitter.com/b2iJXKUAsu— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadrid) May 8, 2024
The goal was an absolute gift from the impressive Manuel Neuer.
The German keeper could not hold on to a Vinicius Junior shot, and Joselu was on hand to poke the loose ball into the net to put Real Madrid level on the night at 1-1 and 3-3 on aggregate.
At this point, everyone was bracing themselves for 30 more minutes of excitement and nail-biting, but Los Blancos and Joselu had other ideas.
Three minutes after levelling the game for Los Blancos, the Spain international, Joselu, scored to put Real Madrid ahead; VAR had a check for offside, the goal stood, and Bavarian hearts were broken, in added time.
Real Madrid won the game 2-1 on the night and 4-3 on aggregate.
By losing the Champions League semi-finals, Bayern Munich are officially going trophyless this season. Meanwhile, Real Madrid are eyeing a double this season, having already won the La Liga title.
Los Blancos will now face Borrusia Dortmund at Wembley on June 1, 2024.
Would Real Madrid grab their record-extending 15th Champions League title or would Borrusia Dortmund shock them in the German club’s first Champions League final since 2013?
Borussia Dortmund have only won the UEFA Champions League title once. They did it in 1997. Could they go against all the odds to grab their second?
It should be a special match to watch!