Real Madrid 3-2 Bayern Munich: TheWhites superior to Bavarians in a magical Champions League evening
3-2
The magic came by way of the fans, the drive showcased by a team that stepped out onto the turf convinced of its possibilities, and a skipper that always delivers as promised on big nights. Tonight, Raul scored twice, displaying the indomitable spirit for which he is famous throughout the Old Continent. But Bayern never surrendered and struck back twice. This way, the Round of 16 tie is wide open and as almost everyone predicted, it will be decided on 7 March at Munich's Allianz Arena.
As the anthem of the Champions League competition resounded on the PA system of the Santiago Bernabéu, the venue filled with an atmosphere of valour, drive, honour... history in the making filled the very last corner of the Madridista Colosseum. Two huge banners that spread accross both ends of the stadium summarised a shared feeling: “The Tenth beckons us” -as Madrid fight their way to the tenth European Cup- and “We are the 12th player.”
The fans showed great determination and verve as they witnessed their team come storming forward in the search for the first goal of the evening. Real Madrid's ideas were clear and concise: move the ball from side to side through Gago, the midfielder who orchestrated the game, and Guti, the playmaker. This worn down Bayern Munich, a side that had many doubts in defence. The Whites launched their attacks preferably down the flanks, with Guti playing it down the wings for David Beckham. With 4 minutes on the clock, Van Nistelrooy was the first to test one of Madrid's old foes: Oliver Kahn.
Real Madrid dominated all the facets of the game. Youth fullback Torres delivered the goods in his Champions League debut at the Bernabéu. But the first dent came by way of Real Madrid's number '7'. Beckham grabbed the ball in midfield. He fed it through the middle, where Van Nistelrooy pitched a wonderful control past his marker as he perfectly devised Raul losing his man and running across Bayern's box into the open space. His pass left Raul and Kahn to square off yet another in a long list of historical one-on-ones. The top scorer of the Champions League -56 goals, including tonight's two- did not falter and put the ball away on the back of Ollie's net: 1-0 only eleven minutes into the game.
Meanwhile, Bayern were unable to find their spot in the turf and only Van Bommel was able to get past the tight Madridista web in midfield testing his long range shot. After the first fifteen minutes, an overwhelmed Hitzfeld opted for a tactical change and repositioned Van Bommel right in front of his four-strong defense. This way the performance of the Germans hiked up a notch, but Real Madrid's push and shove continued to prove too much for the Bavarians to counteract. Their only option, as is customary in these situations, were the set pieces. And by way of a free kick came the equaliser: Lucio headed a lucky lob to Casillas' far post (min.23).
The crowd rage on: their team is no pushover
But uncertainty was not in tonight's menu during this first half and the reaction of the Whites was well worthy of Europe's elite competition. Whenever the Germans tried to play, the Bernabéu struck back with a loud angry roar and deafening whistles, which stopped Munich in their tracks and gave the locals wings to soar. They stole the ball, they drove it upward nimbly and they got their reward. Once again it was the Englishman who set up his teammates with a set piece. He took a corner kick and crossed the ball to Iván Helguera, who rose to the challenge and over two defenders. He hit the ball with the crown of his head past Oliver Kahn and over the defender on the far post. Raúl patiently waited for the ball to drop and lodged it in the back of the net (min.28).
The night was vibrant and Real Madrid were determined to show why they were the top scoring team in the group stages and Ruud Van Nistelrooy -third top scorer of the competition with 52 goals- wanted to join in the party. In his umpteenth set piece, Beckham -who played an outstanding first half- served a ball that combed Helguera's head and fell at the Dutchman's feet, who had made a wonderful diagonal movement into the keeper's box. Score Van Nistelrooy, score Real Madrid.
Van Bommel tarnishes the evening
Becks continued to stir things up with his long passes in the second act. He pitched a 40 metre-long ball to Higuaín on the 48-minute mark that the Argentine failed to reach having pulled a muscle that strained him in mid-run. The Englishman kept shining with his free kicks, forcing Kahn to make a great dive in the 51st minute.
The bad news came thirty minutes to the end of the game when Roberto Carlos had to leave the pitch with a niggle to his calf muscles. The Whites pulled back, the pace to the game diminished and counterattacks started to take the spotlight of the encounter.
Bayern never gave up, but their few chances were thwarted by Casillas, who first saved a shot by Makaay -completely lost is mediocrity all night long-, followed by the German's most dangerous play of the evening: Pizarro feinted in the box and kicked a complicated ground ball that Iker didn't hesitate to block (min.77).
Nevertheless, Real Madrid's output in 80 minutes made them falter with exhaustion in the final minutes of the clash. Munich stepped it up, with Van Bommel pulling rank and shooting a powerful ball into the back of the net, leaving the score atb a promising yet uncertain 3-2. March 7 will determine if Real Madrid will continue hosting any more magical Champions League evenings.
MATCH REPORT:
REAL MADRID - 3: Casillas; Torres, Helguera, Cannavaro, Roberto Carlos (Raúl Bravo, min.59); Beckham, Gago, Raúl, Guti, Higuaín (Robinho, min.52); Van Nistelrooy.
BAYERN MUNICH - 2: Kahn; Sagnol, Lucio, Van Buyten, Lahm; Demichelis (Salihamidzic, min.45), Van Bommel, Schweinsteiger (Scholl, min.79), Hargreaves; Podolski (Pizarro, min.60) and Makaay.
GOALS:
1-0: (min. 10): Raúl beats Kahn
1-1: (min.23): Lucio heads in
2-1: (min.28): Raúl finishes off Helguera's header
3-1: (min.34): Van Nistelrooy taps it in
3-2: (min.88): Van Bommel from long range
REFEREE:
Frank de Bleeckere (Belgium). Booked Demichelis (min.38), Schweinsteiger (min.55), and Hargreaves (60').
VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS:
First leg of the Round of 16 of the Champions League held at the Santiago Bernabéu stadium in front of a capacity crowd of 82,000 spectators.
Match report by Cristina Monge
Photos by AFP/AP
Translation by Michael J. O'Donnell & Luis Orueta
The magic came by way of the fans, the drive showcased by a team that stepped out onto the turf convinced of its possibilities, and a skipper that always delivers as promised on big nights. Tonight, Raul scored twice, displaying the indomitable spirit for which he is famous throughout the Old Continent. But Bayern never surrendered and struck back twice. This way, the Round of 16 tie is wide open and as almost everyone predicted, it will be decided on 7 March at Munich's Allianz Arena.
As the anthem of the Champions League competition resounded on the PA system of the Santiago Bernabéu, the venue filled with an atmosphere of valour, drive, honour... history in the making filled the very last corner of the Madridista Colosseum. Two huge banners that spread accross both ends of the stadium summarised a shared feeling: “The Tenth beckons us” -as Madrid fight their way to the tenth European Cup- and “We are the 12th player.”The fans showed great determination and verve as they witnessed their team come storming forward in the search for the first goal of the evening. Real Madrid's ideas were clear and concise: move the ball from side to side through Gago, the midfielder who orchestrated the game, and Guti, the playmaker. This worn down Bayern Munich, a side that had many doubts in defence. The Whites launched their attacks preferably down the flanks, with Guti playing it down the wings for David Beckham. With 4 minutes on the clock, Van Nistelrooy was the first to test one of Madrid's old foes: Oliver Kahn.Real Madrid dominated all the facets of the game. Youth fullback Torres delivered the goods in his Champions League debut at the Bernabéu. But the first dent came by way of Real Madrid's number '7'. Beckham grabbed the ball in midfield. He fed it through the middle, where Van Nistelrooy pitched a wonderful control past his marker as he perfectly devised Raul losing his man and running across Bayern's box into the open space. His pass left Raul and Kahn to square off yet another in a long list of historical one-on-ones. The top scorer of the Champions League -56 goals, including tonight's two- did not falter and put the ball away on the back of Ollie's net: 1-0 only eleven minutes into the game.Meanwhile, Bayern were unable to find their spot in the turf and only Van Bommel was able to get past the tight Madridista web in midfield testing his long range shot. After the first fifteen minutes, an overwhelmed Hitzfeld opted for a tactical change and repositioned Van Bommel right in front of his four-strong defense. This way the performance of the Germans hiked up a notch, but Real Madrid's push and shove continued to prove too much for the Bavarians to counteract. Their only option, as is customary in these situations, were the set pieces. And by way of a free kick came the equaliser: Lucio headed a lucky lob to Casillas' far post (min.23).The crowd rage on: their team is no pushover
But uncertainty was not in tonight's menu during this first half and the reaction of the Whites was well worthy of Europe's elite competition. Whenever the Germans tried to play, the Bernabéu struck back with a loud angry roar and deafening whistles, which stopped Munich in their tracks and gave the locals wings to soar. They stole the ball, they drove it upward nimbly and they got their reward. Once again it was the Englishman who set up his teammates with a set piece. He took a corner kick and crossed the ball to Iván Helguera, who rose to the challenge and over two defenders. He hit the ball with the crown of his head past Oliver Kahn and over the defender on the far post. Raúl patiently waited for the ball to drop and lodged it in the back of the net (min.28).The night was vibrant and Real Madrid were determined to show why they were the top scoring team in the group stages and Ruud Van Nistelrooy -third top scorer of the competition with 52 goals- wanted to join in the party. In his umpteenth set piece, Beckham -who played an outstanding first half- served a ball that combed Helguera's head and fell at the Dutchman's feet, who had made a wonderful diagonal movement into the keeper's box. Score Van Nistelrooy, score Real Madrid.
First leg of the Round of 16 of the Champions League held at the Santiago Bernabéu stadium in front of a capacity crowd of 82,000 spectators.
Photos by AFP/AP
Translation by Michael J. O'Donnell & Luis Orueta
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