Goals from Franck Ribery and Mario Gomez, sandwiching a Mesut Ozil equaliser, gave Bayern Munich a 2-1 win over Real Madrid tonight. Cristiano Ronaldo’s assist brought Madrid back into the game, but it was not enough to overcome an unwavering and irrepressible Bayern Munich side eager to book their place in next month’s final, which will be hosted at their home stadium - the Allianz Arena in Munich.

Real Madrid came into the match in the midst of one of their most difficult stretches of the season, with an away match against bitter rivals Barcelona in store for the weekend. Jose Mourinho once again selected Fabio Coentrao ahead of Marcelo, in keeping with his habit of utilizing the former Benfica man against more dangerous opposition.

The visitor’s first-half effort could be summarised as ineffective, as the well-organised German defence prevented them from creating meaningful chances. The best opportunity fell to Benzema in the opening minutes when Ozil’s throughball found the French striker all alone, but his shot was well saved by Manuel Neuer.

Bayern were not particularly commanding either, but managed to win a pivotal corner through Franck Ribery in the 17th minute. The resulting cross wasn’t immediately cleared and bounced into the path of Ribery, who finished with aplomb from eight yards.
 

Cristiano Ronaldo, who had been effectively denied service during the opening quarter hour, had his first shooting opportunity in the 21st minute after being fouled 25 yards from goal. His swerving free kick managed to clear the wall, but dipped too late to get under the bar.

The hosts controlled the remainder of the half, with Casillas denying Mario Gomez from a tight angle with five minutes left to play. On the balance of play, Bayern Munich deserved their lead and Madrid would need to apply a more creative approach to have a chance of getting back in the game.

Jose Mourinho’s half time speech had at least some positive impact on Madrid, as they started the half on the front foot and should have been level four minutes after the restart when a long ball from Ozil found Benzema in the penalty area. Though the striker had time to shoot, he hesitated and his shot was blocked for a corner.

Madrid finally made their breakthrough in the 54th minute through a combination of luck and good work from Benzema and Ronaldo. The Portuguese winger was sent through on goal by Benzema, but had his initial effort turned away by Neuer. The rebound somewhat fortuitously fell to Benzema, whose cross was laid back into the path of Ozil by Ronaldo, leaving the German international little choice but to score. 

The visitors faded after the goal and Bayern began to exert more pressure on the Madrid back four. Gomez missed a golden opportunity to put Bayern in front in the 70th minute when Ramos failed to deal with a free kick, allowing it to find the striker unmarked in front of goal. Though it seemed easier to score, Gomez somehow contrived to send the ball well over the bar, much to the relief of the visitors’ bench.
 

The pressure eventually got the better of Madrid however, and Fabio Coentrao was guilty of allowing Phillip Lahm to scamper away down the right and cross for Gomez, who bundled the ball over the line for the all-important winner with only a minute left in normal time.

Real Madrid will be pleased to have an away goal to take back to the Bernabeu with them, but will need to improve dramatically in the second leg if they are to overturn the one goal deficit. Bayern Munich’s tactical excellence stymied the creative aspirations of Madrid’s best players, and the Spanish giants may yet be left to rue their lack of composure in the waning moments of the game.

Madrid will have to rebound quickly, as their chances of winning the La Liga crown will likely hinge on whether or not they can get a result in Barcelona on Saturday night.

by Nathan Motz

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