Joselu was Real Madrid’s hero as the former Stoke City striker’s stunning late double completed a 2-1 comeback win over Bayern Munich to reach the Champions League final via a 4-3 aggregate victory.
Thomas Tuchel’s Bayern thought they were heading into the Wembley final as they led until 88 minutes through Alphonso Davies’ second-half stunner, but then Manuel Neuer, who had produced four amazing stops earlier in the game, shockingly spilled Vinicius Junior’s shot into substitute Joselu’s path to equalise.
As the Santiago Bernabeu pressure rose – and after Harry Kane had been taken off by Tuchel with the score at 1-0 to Bayern – Joselu then turned in Antonio Rudiger’s cross from close range in the 91st minute, a winner eventually given after a VAR review of a tight offside call on the forward.
Player ratings
Real Madrid: Lunin (7); Carvajal (7), Rudiger (7), Nacho (7), Mendy (6); Valverde (6), Tchouameni (6), Kroos (7), Rodrygo (7), Bellingham (6), Vinicius (8)
Subs: Modric (7), Joselu (9), Diaz (7), Camavinga (6), Militao (n/a)
Bayern Munich: Neuer (7); Kimmich (5), De Ligt (7), Dier (7), Mazraoui (6); Laimer (7), Pavlovic (6); Sane (5), Musiala (6), Gnabry (5); Kane (7)
Subs: Davies (8), Muller (6), Choupo-Moting (6), Kim (4)
Player of the match: Joselu (Real Madrid)
But Bayern fume at late offside call
However, there was late controversy as Bayern were denied what looked like a clear equaliser deep into stoppage time when Matthijs De Ligt scored on the half-volley.
But with the linesman already flagging for offside, referee Szymon Marciniak had also already blown for offside despite replays appearing to show that Bayern’s attackers may have been onside.
“It’s a disastrous decision from the linesman and from the referee. It feels almost like a betrayal in the end because of that decision,” said Tuchel.
Why were Bayern Munich annoyed?
Matthijs De Light put the ball in the net late on for Bayern Munich, which would have surely taken the game into extra-time.
However, a few seconds before De Ligt shot, referee Szymon Marciniak had already blown for offside against Noussair Mazraoui.
But replays showed the Bayern defender was onside, with the assistant – who is instructed to keep his flag down for tight calls so VAR can review the call – making a clear error.
Whether Real’s players would have stopped De Ligt scoring had the whistle not gone is open to debate, but it was a bad mistake from the officials at a critical time.
