Atletico ousts Bayern to reach Champions League final

Antoine Griezmann's goal shortly after the break proved decisive as Atletico hung on to the crucial away goal and win the semifinal with a 2-2 aggregate score.

Published : May 04, 2016 02:21 IST , Munich

Atletico Madrid players celebrate Antoine Griezmann's goal against Bayern Munich.
Atletico Madrid players celebrate Antoine Griezmann's goal against Bayern Munich.
lightbox-info

Atletico Madrid players celebrate Antoine Griezmann's goal against Bayern Munich.

Atletico Madrid reached the Champions League final for the second time in three seasons on Tuesday, going through on away goals after a 2-1 defeat at Bayern Munich, in which both sides missed a penalty, with the tie finishing 2-2 on aggregate.

> Match Centre

Atletico, which will face either city rival Real Madrid, which beat it in the 2014 final, or Manchester City, who meet in the second semifinal on Wednesday, also spoiled Bayern's treble chances after the Spaniards won the first leg 1-0 last week.

Bayern took the lead with a Xabi Alonso goal in the 31st minute but Atletico levelled through Antoine Griezmann's seventh goal of the competition in the 54th. Robert Lewandowski set up a dramatic finale with his 74th minute goal but it was not enough.

> Griezmann: Atletico deserved to reach final

Thomas Mueller missed a first-half penalty for Bayern and Atletico's Fernando Torres had an 85th minute spot kick saved as Bayern suffered a third straight elimination by a Spanish team at this stage in its three seasons under Pep Guardiola.

“They were better, but we scored an away goal, which was important. We need to keep grounded and first of all think of the Liga before the final,” said Griezmann, whose side is level on points with leader Barcelona in the Spanish title race.

Guardiola, in his final Champions League home game at Bayern before his move to Manchester City for next season, started with defender Jerome Boateng, who returned from a three-month injury break on Saturday, and Franck Ribery, himself back from injury.

With a newly-discovered intensity, the Bavarians were dominant in the first half, successfully navigating through the Spaniards' high pressing game and grabbing their first chance with a Lewandowski header in the 12th minute.

The Poland striker narrowly failed to connect inside the box while Arturo Vidal's left-footed effort was plucked out of the air on its way to the top corner by keeper Jan Oblak. > Lahm: Pity we could not reward Guardiola for his three years

DESERVED LEAD

Oblak came to the rescue once more in the 20th, denying Lewandowski from close range, but the Spaniards looked rattled, with the tables turned and Bayern doing the pressing and having 12 shots compared to Atletico's two by the half hour.

Xabi Alonso finally got Bayern a deserved lead, his low free kick clipping Atletico's Jose Maria Gimenez to beat Oblak and cancel out Atletico's first-leg advantage.

Bayern pushed for a second goal before the break and thought it would have it when Javi Martinez was brought down by Gimenez in the box to earn a penalty three minutes later.

> READ: Madrid revenge no factor for Simeone

However, Oblak saved Mueller's spot kick and Lewandowski's effort from the rebound to keep the Spaniards in the game.

Atletico stunned the home crowd after the break with its first real chance of the game when Frenchman Griezmann linked up with Fernando Torres and charged through to beat Neuer with a fine finish.

With Bayern now on the backfoot and needing two more goals to advance, Atletico grew bolder and Juanfran's shot on the hour sailed narrowly wide.

Lewandowski put Bayern back in front on the night with a close-range header to trigger a dramatic finale but, even after Neuer saved Torres' spot kick, the Germans could not find another goal and their Champions League hopes were over

Sign in to unlock all user benefits
  • Get notified on top games and events
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign up / manage to our newsletters with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early bird access to discounts & offers to our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide to our community guidelines for posting your comment