Following Real Madrid’s spanking of Bayern Munich on Tuesday night at the Allianz Arena, the reigning champions were dumped out of the UEFA Champions League at the semifinal stage.
Bayern were beaten heavily, as Pep Guardiola’s men rolled over against Real who finally made it to their first UCL final since 2002 after being knocked out at the semifinal stage during the last three seasons. The men from Madrid were long overdue.
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Real tore Bayern apart with three goals in the first 30 minutes putting the Spanish giants 4-0 ahead on aggregate… that was the way it remained until the last two minutes when Cristiano Ronaldo scored his second and Real’s fourth to make it 5-0 to the Spanish giants on aggregate. You read that right. Real shut up shop to thwart the German side, as Bayern had over 60 percent of the possession on the night but that counted for nothing as the tiki-taka approach was ambushed by Real’s pacey and incisive attacks.
So, everyone’s favorites are out and Real are heading to Lisbon on May 24 for the UCL final. Here are three things that stood out in a clinical mauling, as one European powerhouse battered another.
Sergio Ramos and Pepe prevail
Within the first 20 minutes of Real Madrid’s win over Bayern, Sergio Ramos became the first defender to head home two goals in a UCL semifinal. The Spaniard rose like a salmon above Dante on the first, then nipped in ahead of Mario Mandzukic on the second. That knocked the stuffing out of Bayern, who knew they must score four goals to go through. That soon became five after a devastating counter-attack between Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale (more on that soon) finished off the Bavarians in the first half. Try as they might Bayern couldn’t get back into the game as Ramos did his main job at the other end of the pitch superbly. Alongside Pepe, Real Madrid’s central defensive duo bossed Mandzukic as they headed and cleared away every dangerous ball that Bayern flung into the box. Carlo Ancelotti’s Real has a solid foundation about them this season, they have only conceded nine goals and have kept five clean sheets in their 12 UCL games. Everyone marvels about the attacking talents of Real, and rightly so, yet when Real raced through the door towards the Champions League final in Lisbon on May 24 thanks to their forwards, Pepe and Ramos made sure it slammed shut in Bayern’s face and there was no chance of a crazy comeback.
Substance over style: the end of tiki-taka?
Talking of comebacks, Spain put their pain behind them (well, Real did) last season after both Real and Barcelona were destroyed by German sides Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund at the semifinal stage. Tearing Bayern apart on the counter-attack, Real used their solid defensive foundation wonderfully well on Tuesday. Soaking up Bayern pressure then hitting the German giants where it hurt, Real have now scored 36 goals and counting in this season’s Champions League. That is 11 more than their nearest rivals, Paris Saint-Germain, who were knocked out at the quarterfinal stage. When I say substance over style prevailing, I mean that instead of passing it for the sake of it, Real just went for goal. Pace, direct play and precision prevailed as Real broke time and time again to smash Bayern into submission. Ronaldo and Bale were just too good. Every time a ball was hooked out of defense, it seemed like a magnet was inserted into Karim Benzema’s foot as the Frenchman held the ball up, laid it back to Luka Modric or Xabi Alonso, who then clipped it forward to Bale or Ronaldo to turn on the afterburners. Sometimes, soccer is a simple game. Defend, hold the ball up, clip it in the channels and get speedy wingers on the end of it. Does this mark something more significant though? Direct soccer seems to be overtaking the tiki-taka approach, as Guardiola’s possession obsession bared no fruit against Real and their water-tight defense.
Bayern’s frail defense finally exposed
Bayern have only won four of their last 10 games in the last month since they won the Bundesliga title, as the reigning champions have eased into the final few months of the season. That showed on Tuesday as Bayern’s defense were slow, sluggish and something which has been brewing for a while happened: Munich’s defensive frailties were mercifully exposed. Brazilian central defender Dante is good on the ball and decent in the air, but he switched off for the first two goals and was caught by Bale and Ronaldo’s pace for the third. He earned himself a new contract earlier this year after being linked to Manchester United… looks like the Red Devils have dodged a bullet there. Speaking of United, Dante was unable to cope with the pace of Danny Welbeck in their quarterfinal win and Bale and Ronaldo tore him apart in the semis. Bayern’s defense just couldn’t handle the direct play of Real, as you could see in previous UCL games that the German champions were easily exposed by long balls over the top as Dante and Jerome Boateng struggle when being turned around and defending with their back to the play. After tasting defeat despite dominating possession over both legs, will Guardiola alter his style next season to get Bayern back to the summit of European soccer? He may have to, otherwise his defense will be exposed to pacey attackers who can make tiki-taka look lackadaisical and lackluster once more. A changing of the guard is occurring again in European soccer. Spanish pace, not German possession, rules the UCL this season.
