Real Madrid set up with Borussia Dortmund in the UEFA Champions league 2023-24 final at Wembley Stadium, London on June 1.
Real Madrid beat Bayern Munich 2-1 (4-3 on aggregate) in the UEFA Champions League 2023-24 semifinal second leg as substitute Joselu scored twice in three minutes.
However, Mats Hummels headed in the only goal as Borussia Dortmund stunned Kylian Mbappe and Paris Saint-Germain in their Champions League semi-final second leg on Tuesday, winning 1-0 on the Tuesday night and advancing 2-0 on aggregate.
This was as Bayern took the lead in the 68th minute after Bayern won the ball deep in its half to counterattack. Harry Kane got the ball and played a long ball to substitute Alphonso Davies, who cut in from the left flank and curled it past Lunin towards the far post.
You may also read
- Real Madrid Hold Bayern Munich In UCL Semi-Final clash
- Fuellkrug nets for Dortmund against PSG in Champions League Semi-finals
- Dortmund Beat Atletico To Reach Champions League Semis
With the time running out, Madrid found the equaliser when Manuel Neuer dropped the ball into the path of Joselu, after saving the initial shot from Vinicius Jr.
Three minutes later, Joselu once again found himself at the end of a pass from Rudiger. The goal was disallowed initially for offside against Rudiger but was given after VAR confirmed that the German centre-back was onside.
Real Madrid had a chance to go ahead in the tie after Vinicius Jr hit the post after getting the ball from a quick throw-in. The ball fell back to Rodrygo, whose shot forced a good save from Neuer.
Lunin kept his side in the game after he was forced to make a great save near the half-hour mark, after a spectacular volley from Harry Kane. At the other end, Neuer tipped away a Vinicius cross that was sneaking into the goal in the later stages of the first half.
Bayern Munich was hit with a blow when German winger Serge Gnabry was replaced by Davies after the former went down in the 26th minute holding his hamstring.
Gnabry previously suffered a muscle strain in his left hamstring in the 2-2 draw at Arsenal in the Champions League quarterfinal first leg a few weeks ago.
Both defences were tested right at the start of the second half with Eric Dier and Dani Carvajal making crucial blocks after attempts from Vinicius and Davies respectively.
Joshua Kimmich found it difficult to handle Vinicius Jr’s threat down the left side, forcing Neuer to make save after save to keep his side in the tie, until his eventual mistake which gave away the first goal.
Dortmund score PSG to reach final
Hummels struck five minutes into the second half at the Parc des Princes and PSG were unable to muster a response, the home side all out of luck as they hit the woodwork four times in total.
Dortmund, who sit fifth in the German Bundesliga, were never expected to go so far and will be underdogs in the June 1 showpiece regardless of whether they face their old rivals Bayern Munich or Real Madrid.
It will be their first final since 2013 when, remarkably, the match was also played at Wembley and Jurgen Klopp’s Dortmund lost to Bayern.y Son’s Lifeless Body- Father Of Murdered.
Hummels played in that final and here, 11 years later, he was the hero as Dortmund built on the advantage given to them by Niclas Fuellkrug’s goal in the first leg.
“It’ll take us a bit of time to realise that, but we’re looking forward to it extremely,” Dortmund coach Edin Terzic told broadcaster Amazon Prime of getting to the final.
“We did it somehow, making it to London.”
The story of this semi-final, however, is as much about PSG’s failure in another crunch knockout tie in the competition.
They have still never won the trophy despite all the money invested by their Qatari owners since the 2011 takeover, and there will be no dream send-off for Mbappe.
He will leave when his contract expires after this season and had been hoping to play his last game for the club in the June 1 final.
Instead PSG will be left to reflect on how they failed to get their hands on the biggest trophy of all during Mbappe’s seven years at his hometown team.
“We were not clinical enough. They scored two goals, one from a corner and one from a long ball. We created lots more chances, many more than them, but we didn’t take them,” PSG captain Marquinhos told Canal Plus.
“We got so close and we wanted to get to the final. But we had to win tonight and be more clinical, and we were not.”
PSG’s last two semi-final appearances both came during the pandemic, meaning this was the first time they had hosted a match at this stage of a European competition with fans in 29 years, since losing to AC Milan in 1995.
Kobel turned Mbappe’s shot onto the bar on 86 minutes and Vitinha also rattled the woodwork but Dortmund hung on to book their date in London. AFP
