Thomas Tuchel played perfectly until he made a mistake in a game Bayern Munich won before the introduction of Stoke City’s defectors turned the tide in Real Madrid’s favor.
Half an hour later, as we desperately try to find something noteworthy to talk about in the Champions League semi-finals, without deviating from TNT Sports’ mission to make a relatively boring game of soccer, it’s the best we’ve ever seen. The best thing ever.” Darren Fletcher said, “Tonight is Toni Kroos’ Passing Academy.” “Yes, I like it very much,” replied Rio Ferdinand.
Was it? By that point, Kroos had completed 49 passes, but none of them were this important. Great assist to Vinicius Junior last week. He’s a metronome, which can be taken as a compliment. He didn’t lose the ball. This also seems like a good thing, but it’s not always the case. Everything was very safe. Not just Claus, but everything.
Fletcher summed up the first half as “cat and mouse,” a well-known euphemism for boredom. “We’re just waiting for one of our big players to break this game up in a big way,” he added, and thankfully so far there hasn’t been much more than a group of players passing the ball sideways and giving up possession. For a neutral country that did nothing – Vinicius Junior seemed to remember during the half-time break that he was very, very good at football.
Joshua Kimmich was reminded of the Brazilian’s brilliance every time Real Madrid had the ball in the first 20 minutes of the second half. And the rather crude tactic of getting the ball to the areas of the pitch where the speed discrepancy was greatest looked like it would pay dividends at one point. Vinicius had made Kimmich wear skates.
The left winger got to the goal line multiple times, scored basically whenever he felt like it, and even whipped in a cross for his compatriot Rodrygo. Rodrigo should have done better. Vinicius then tricked Kimmich into thinking he would always go to the right of the defender, instead dribbling across the box and forcing a brilliant save from Manuel Nour with a bullet shot.
The German goalkeeper, who was a hero in this game and throughout his 13-year career with Bayern Munich, later became a villain.
Alphonso Davies put Bayern ahead in exactly the way manager Thomas Tuchel would have dreamed his side would score at the Bernabéu. After Jamal Musiala wriggled away from a challenge in his own box, Harry Kane swung the ball out for Davies to cut inside and fire a shot past Andriy Lunin.
Tuchel will likely get a substitute slot. It was particularly costly as they were chasing the game in the final minutes without Kane, Musiala and Leroy Sane, but from the time Bayern scored in the 68th minute until Madrid equalized in the 88th minute, the home side actually produced relatively few points.
Perhaps as much as Tuchel’s blunder, we should also marvel at Carlo Ancelotti’s call for Josell, with the former Stoke City striker scoring with his first and third touches off the bench. Vinicius then leveled the score with a meek shot, and after the goalkeeper chested the ball and bounced it out of his reach, he scored between Neuer’s legs, and less than three minutes later, Antonio scored. He converted Rudiger’s cross into the net and scored after a VAR review. It was initially ruled out for offside.
This is yet another example of Real Madrid snatching Champions League victory from the brink of defeat. And once he got one, it always felt like he could get two. But, as always with defeated managers, Tuchel will reflect on what he could have done differently. And once the team gets over the fact that what looked like a perfect late equalizer was ruled out for offside due to the flag, the happy linesman – he will surely regret the changes he made in the second half.
Kane didn’t have to take it off. Even if Josel had not scored the winning goal, Bayern would have had to play extra time without Josel, who has scored 44 goals this season and is almost certain to score in the shootout. In retrospect, the appointment of Kim Min-jae was also a strange decision. The logic is sound. More defenders means more solidity. However, Eric Dier and Matthijs de Ligt looked comfortable beforehand, so the change in formation “caused some confusion”, as Paul Scholes said in the studio after the match.
Lesson for Thomas Tuchel: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Lesson for Carlo Ancelotti: When in doubt, trust in the inevitability of Stoke City’s departure and Real Madrid’s Champions League appearance.
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