BAYERN MUNCHEN - REAL MADRID

Bayern Munich end up against the ropes against a Real Madrid that deserved better

The young Allianz Arena -München Arena tonight- already has its own great story to tell: the victory of the home team against Real Madrid, who overcame the shellshocking first goal by Makaay, eagerly fought for the draw and never put their arms down, not even after Lucio's second goal. In the dying seconds, Sergio Ramos almost equalised the game to put Madrid ahead in the tie, but his strike was disallowed by the referee. The crowd carried the local team all evening long, even after they lost their place following Van Nistelrooy's goal from the penalty spot and even when they ended up against the ropes in their very home turf. The Whites kept their heads high and went down fighting but luck was not on their side. Now it's time to think of their Saturday La Liga match in and against Barcelona.

The Munich Arena stadium, as it is named on UEFA competition nights, is already very impressive from outside, beholding it from a distance of 10 kilometres, when one makes out its red-coloured, UFO-shaped profile from the freeway. But inside, it is even more impressive, especially when one takes into account the shrill PA announcer and the 158,000 watts to fray tempers. When the Madridistas stepped out onto the field of play, the “pressure cooker” that the local footballers had been claiming from their followers for two weeks was at its boiling point. Everything was perfectly planned out in the books to achieve a deafening clamour, the sort of inferno they had dreamed of. The visitor had to counteract such display with the type of full-on football that silences any local crowd. Fact: no team has beaten the Germans in the Champions League at this stadium since it was first inaugurated in 2005.

Early goal, blow and turn of the tide
The plan produced the desired effect. As an extension to the party on the stands, Bayern Munich took the earliest imaginable lead in the scoreboard: it was second 15 when, in a flash, the “injured” Salihamidzic -he had been a serious doubt until the very last minute- took Roberto Carlos by surprise with a swift run down the flank. His cross was impeccable and it was tapped into the back of the net by the type of unforgiving striker that always makes the best of this kind of nicely wrapped gifts: Roy Makaay. A stunner! A gift of a goal with just one minute played and the tie was now lost.

The German barrage lasted precisely the time it took Real Madrid to take control of the ball, although they were at 6s and 7s for some time there. It wasn't until the 20th minute that Bayern would come biting back, with Casillas deflecting a one-on-one against Podolski. Six minutes later, it would be Makaay who would follow suit... as a prelude of the goalkeeping recital of the Spanish stopper tonigt. Meanwhile, Madrid passed and passed, with Gago orchestrating the game of the Whites and Emerson and Diarra as his faithful deputies. The battle for the midfield that Capello had anticipated was fully in control of Madrid, but they had nothing to offer in attack. They had not found their range yet and they were definitely not testing Oliver Kahn's gloves. The only runs in came by way of the right wing, which was precisely the one that everyone would have thought weakest, with the absences of Beckham, Reyes and Cicinho. Two crosses by Van Nistelrooy and Higuaín from this side did not find anyone on the end of them. Real Madrid were not creating chances and they desperately needed someone to drive the ball forward and feed it to the attacking front. With 30 minutes on the clock, Guti stripped down and came in for Emerson.

It was the beginning of a whole new game
With the Madridista youth player inside the pitch, the Spaniards continued to dominate, but you could sense the danger lurking now. The last five minutes of the first act witnessed up to seven run-ins, each one with added danger: first, with the first shot of Real Madrid with 38 minutes gone performed by Higuain, although it looked more like a rugby conversion; second, similar situation and same result by Van Nistelrooy just three minutes later; next up, the best play of the evening, with Raúl, Roberto Carlos, Higuaín and Guti combining, the Argentine with a final backheel into the Spanish playmaker, who missed the final shot after the beautiful one-two; then, with no time to react for the locals, Van Nistelrooy put disappointing power on the header to a perfect cross by Guti from the corner of the box; and finally, the clearest chance following a stupendous control by Raúl, who shot powerfully but the ball caught right up off the corner of the woodwork. You could smell the goal in the air, but Bayern were saved by the bell.

The second half started to the tune of the first act, with the clearest opportunity for Van Bommel, but once again Casillas was a class act. But the game had changed completely. Madrid picked up where they had left off and continued to create chance upon chance. Cassano, who had come in for Higuaín, shot wide from the border of the boxline with everything in his favour. Following that, it was Guti who forced Oliver Kahn to save an excellent attempt on target with the head. It was Real Madrid's best passage of play, with Bayern defending in an orderly fashion and looking to break on the counter as fast as possible and to take full advantage of the set pieces. As time was consumed, one could understand better and better why the local players had asked their crowd so much passion in the days prior to the return leg. They needed their twelfth man to crush the spirit of Real Madrid, which was far superior in the technical department. And so, the Arena came to understand this because the home fans rose to the occasion as they started chanting and waving flags -there was one on each seat- in unison to give their players the necessary courage. Their price would be collected in the form of a goal after a master set up from the corner kick. Lucio scored the second of the night for the Bavarians and left Madrid to free fall.

Heads held up high
Capello's men didn't give up but they now needed two goals for the comeback. The first would come after the linesman awarded a penalty on Robinho. Van Nistelrooy took it and put it in. Still, before his shot, both Diarra and Van Bommel were sent off following what could hardly be branded as sensible refereeing. Yet another adversity... but the Madridistas would not stop fighting until the very end. It was not meant to be, though, but at least they got to silence a stadium that felt the dregs of disaster looming upon them as the crowd waved goodbye to the most awarded team in Europe. It was especially the case after Sergio Ramos whipped the ball into the back of the net in the last minute… but the referee rightfully disallowed the goal as the defender had handballed it before taking his shot. Bayern Munich signed off and went on through to the quarterfinals. Madrid will have to put their hearts and minds in the League from this point forward, especially in view of the game awaiting this next Saturday in and against Barcelona. The best thing, once again, were the 3,500 undying fans, who never stopped supporting their team against the colossal force of the Arena power.