Champions League: Benzema brace sends Real Madrid to the final

Real Madrid 2 Bayern Munich 2 (4-3 on aggregate)

It was a tale of two goalkeepers at the Bernabeu last night as Real Madrid held on against Bayern Munich to reach the final of the Champions League.

That they clung on for a 2-2 draw - and a 4-3 win on aggregate - was in no small part due to Keylor Navas, who made eight saves against the German champions, his highest tally in a Champions League knockout game. A couple were stunners, denying Bayern the goals they so desperately needed on a night when once again they enjoyed the lion’s share of possession.

What they didn’t enjoy, however, was the sight of their goalkeeper Sven Ulreich making the mother of all mistakes 20 seconds into the second-half.

The teams had turned around all square at the interval, an early effort by Joshua Kimmich equalised by Karim Benzema, and it was the Frenchman who pounced on Ulreich’s error to put Real into the lead.

Corentin Tolisso’s backpass was unsympathetic but nonetheless the keeper should have dealt with the danger. Instead, as he went to dive on the ball, Ulreich suddenly realised he was inside his area and, caught in two minds, he tried to paddle it clear with his legs. In an agony of incompetence, he watched the ball slide under his body and into the path of Benzema, who tapped it into an empty net.

Bayern pulled a goal back through James Rodriguez on 63 minutes but the third that they needed to edge into the final on Kiev on 26 May proved beyond them.

“We never stop fighting up to the very last minute, just as the Bayern players did,” said Real coach Zinedine Zidane, whose side are the first to reach three successive Champions League finals twice. “It’s in the DNA of the club.”

Admitting that Real have ridden their luck this season on their way to the final, Zidane said: “This is our third final but we suffered a lot. At the end, we were strong and we lived with the pressure… we played against a huge team, Juve was the same, PSG also. We are happy because we beat all three despite having to suffer.”

Real captain Sergio Ramos also referenced the club’s DNA, saying: “[It] pushes you to fight until the end. We knew how to suffer together. They had more possession but overall we were better. This team deserves to be in Kiev.”

That wasn’t the view of Bayern manager Jupp Heynckes, who steps down from his position at the end of the season. “Over both games, we were clearly the better team, but we’ve not been able to reach the final,” he said. “We dominated but [Keylor] Navas was spectacular, especially at the end.”

Asked about his own goalkeeper’s moment of madness, Heynckes replied: “Ulreich had a little blackout. We gave a world-class display, lots of beautiful football, it’s such a shame we were eliminated.”

In the final Real will play the winner of the Roma vs. Liverpool semi-final. Liverpool are favourites to progress to the final after winning the first leg against Roma 5-2 last week.