Madrid: First Barcelona, then Real Madrid. Bayern Munich sent Madrid out on penalties to reach a Champions League final that will be held in its own stadium and ensure neither of the Spanish giants will get a chance to play for the famous trophy.
Madrid’s demise came a day after Chelsea stunned Barcelona at the Camp Nou and just as Lionel Messi missed a penalty for defending champion Barca, his Madrid rival Cristiano Ronaldo had his spot kick saved in a tense shootout that sent Bayern through to face Chelsea at its Allianz Arena on May 19.
Bayern will become the first team to play for the trophy on home soil.
Ronaldo looked to have put the home side on its way to the final with two early goals, but Arjen Robben’s 27th-minute penalty leveled the score over two legs at 3-3. In the shootout, goalkeeper Manuel Neuer saved from Ronaldo and Kaka to put Bayern on course after it had scored its opening two kicks, before counterpart Iker Casillas denied Toni Kroos and Philipp Lahm to drag Madrid back into it.
But Sergio Ramos skied his penalty high over the bar for Madrid, leaving Bastian Schweinsteiger to win it for the visitors, the Germany international shooting straight down the middle to spark the Bayern celebrations.
Schweinsteiger ripped his shirt off and went screaming toward the Bayern fans, as Madrid coach Jose Mourinho, who watched the shootout from his knees, retreated down the tunnel after seeing Bayern exact a measure of revenge at the same stadium where Mourinho’s Inter Milan beat them in the final two years ago. Barcelona was knocked out by underdog Chelsea on Tuesday.
Earlier, Madrid charged out into an early lead after David Alaba handled when sliding to block Angel Di Maria’s cross. Ronaldo showed no jitters as he stepped up to drill the spot kick into the right corner with goalkeeper Neuer guessing left.
Ronaldo’s 10th goal of the tournament made it 2-0 following an excellent buildup that saw the Spanish leaders spread the ball around with Sami Khedira finding Mesut Oezil, who spotted a wide open Ronaldo outside the area to coolly pick his spot low and to the left.
While Madrid thrived on the break, Bayern’s reliance on possession and wingers Franck Ribery and Robben finally paid off in the 26th when Pepe was late to cover Mario Gomez, the Portugal centerback booked for bundling the Germany striker down as they chased a ball into the area.
Casillas guessed right and got a touch but could not keep Robben’s powerful spot kick out as the Netherlands forward atoned for a glaring miss earlier. The European heavyweights kept pushing forward in the second half . The tempo dipped dramatically in extra-time. Later, Alaba and Gomez scored Bayern’s first two penalties to pressure Madrid, which came apart with its first final appearance in 10 years so close as Ronaldo repeated his penalty miss from 2008 final. (AP)