A moment of madness from Eduardo Camavinga saw Real Madrid’s remontada hopes dashed in a 6-4 aggregate loss to Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter final. The Frenchman picked up a late red card to blow a tight game open. Bayern capitalised with a duo of late goals, and Los Blancos were sent home after a chaotic tie.
But it might have been different. Madrid enjoyed a dream start – even if it was rather gifted to them. Manuel Neuer passed inexplicably to the feet of Guler inside the first minute, who whipped into an empty net from 30 yards. But Bayern responded. Their goal was a simple one. Joshua Kimmich whipped a cross in under the bar. Alex Pavlovic nudged Andriy Lunin out of the way and nodded home.
But Los Blancos showed their Champions League quality. Guler was at it again after 30 minutes, whipping a free-kick into the top corner via Neuer’s outstretched hand. And then it was pretty much chaos. Bayern had a duo of good penalty shouts turned down. Harry Kane made up for any complaints by scoring from close range. And then Kylian Mbappe restored parity again, tucking home off a classic counter-attack. Somewhere in between, Vincent Kompany picked up a yellow card that will see him suspended for the next game.
The second half was far more like the contest that most expected. Madrid dropped deep and hit on the break. Concrete chances were few and far between. Both keepers were tested, but a clear look on goal never really came. A moment of stupidity, in truth, broke it open. Camavinga was already on a yellow when he picked up the ball and delayed a Bayern free kick. The referee showed no hesitation in brandishing a second yellow. It opened up the game slightly – and Bayern capitalised. Diaz stuck the killer blow, cutting inside and firing an angled shot into the far corner. Michael Olise added another late on, and Madrid were left to woe ill-discipline, and confront a season that will now surely finish with an empty trophy cabinet.
GOAL rates Real Madrid’s players from the Allianz Arena…
