Harry Kane looks on dejected after Bayern Munich was eliminated by Real Madrid in the Champions ... [+]
The dream of a German final has ended at the Bernabeu. Despite being a goal up thanks to a wonderful strike by Alphonso Davies (68’), Bayern Munich would lose 2-1 (4-3 on aggregate) to Real Madrid thanks to two goals by Joselu (88’ & 91’). But while the result may have arrived in heartbreaking fashion, Real Madrid, on balance, deserved to go through.
Indeed, even a somewhat controversial call towards the end of the game didn’t change the fact that Real Madrid dominated the Bundesliga giants. After all, Real Madrid had 57% possession and completed 570 vs 416 passes.
That doesn’t change the fact that Bayern officials were fuming about the fact that the Polish referee team had called a play-off early on a last-minute Bayern attack. Television pictures would reveal that Noussair Mazraoui wasn’t offside when he received a long ball from Joshua Kimmich. The ball would eventually end up with Matthijs de Ligt, and just as he scored, the referee blew the play dead.
Protocol would have been to let that situation play out and then wait for VAR to decide. But would De Ligt have scored without the call? After all, the Real Madrid players stopped thinking the play was dead as well.
We will never find out, but it doesn’t change the fact that the Bayern bosses were furious. "A disaster,” Tuchel said after the game to broadcaster DAZN. “An absolute disaster. With Real's second goal, they let the play continue. The clear rule is that the scene must continue. The linesman made the first mistake, the second by the referee. It was a clear violation of the laws."
Later in the mixed zone, Tuchel said the referee had apologized to him. “But that doesn’t help,” Tuchel added.
Ultimately, that decision, however, will just be a brief distraction from what is now set to be a disastrous season for Bayern Munich. For the first time since 2012, the Rekordmeister will finish a campaign without winning a single title.
“It hurts,” Tuchel said. “It’ll take a while to recover, but on the one hand it’s a loss where we left it all out on the pitch. Of course, it’s tough to accept. It’s part of reality. No regrets. But on the other hand, there were too many injuries, a few too many substitutions, too many cramps.”
That, too, is part of the reality; Bayern entered the match wounded. Following the 3-1 defeat to Stuttgart on Saturday, Tuchel pointed out that his side lacked the depth to be competitive this season. Real Madrid, in the meantime, managed to rotate ten players when they faced Girona on the weekend.
Thomas Tuchel was furious with the referee team following Bayern Munich's 2-1 defeat to Real Madrid ... [+]
Without a doubt, the first leg was a tactical masterpiece by Tuchel, and a similar performance would have been enough tonight to beat Real Madrid. But Jamal Musiala, Leroy Sané, and Aleksandar Pavlovic were taped up for the match. Sané and Musiala, in particular, looked like shadows of their former selves. Plus, Bayern lost Serge Gnabry to an injury in the first half, and then Harry Kane had to come off with a back issue.
“Kane couldn't continue,” Tuchel said. “The front four all had to be subbed off. Harry had an issue with his back.” When asked about Gnabry, Tuchel said: "Hamstring again. The same injury again, the hamstring, it’s been going on for a while.”
Despite all those fitness issues, Bayern still almost snatched a win at the Bernabeu. But a mistake by Manuel Neuer in the 88th minute ultimately turned the game around. A bitter moment, given that Neuer was the best player on the pitch until that moment.
“We started with a front four, and by the end, they were all off the pitch,” Tuchel said. “And then Manu, who had been exceptional in saving us all night, made a mistake he wouldn’t make in another 100 years.”
Shortly after that mistake, Joselu scored his second and kicked Bayern out of the competition. With just two Bundesliga games left to play until the end of the season, the Bayern bosses now face some tough questions about the future.
With Tuchel set to depart, the club has been rejected by several potential head coaches. The latest candidate is now Hansi Flick, but whether he will truly return is doubtful. But without a coach in place, Bayern can’t make important squad decisions.
Whether it is new contracts for Musiala and Davies, making decisions on which players should be sold, or buying new players to add to an aging core, all those points are held up until Bayern has signed a new head coach.
Time is running out. Usually, German clubs make those key decisions in early May to beat out the financially stronger competition in England and Spain. Perhaps the Bayern bosses hoped that beating Real would give them time, but as of tonight, time is something the Rekordmeister no longer has when it comes to planning the club’s immediate future.
Manuel Veth is the host of the Bundesliga Gegenpressing Podcast and the Area Manager USA at Transfermarkt. He has also been published in the Guardian, Newsweek, Howler, Pro Soccer USA, and several other outlets. Follow him on Twitter: @ManuelVeth and on Threads: @manuveth
