Late Champions League semi-final comeback was merely the latest escape act for the Spanish giants led by Carlo Ancelotti At some moment, somewhere amid the mayhem, that symbol of the ridiculousness of Real Madrid returned. The players who had just made another European Cup final had sprinted from one goal to the other, throwing themselves to the floor in front of their fans; Carlo Ancelotti had belted out the club’s anthem with its line about history made and history to be made, the coolest cat looking as if he was about to cry this time; and now they were doing a lap of honour. As they did so ..read more

Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund booked their spots in the final at Wembley thanks to a pair of unlikely match winners Two second legs that both reached a dramatic crescendo, one with late goals, the other with late misses, set up a Wembley final between Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund. Goalkeeper: Andriy Lunin, Real Madrid ..read more

Bild reflects on ‘bitter defeat’ caused by late ‘double shock’ Tuchel’s selection questioned and comparison drawn to 1999 Germany mourned dashed hopes for an all-German Champions League final after Bayern Munich’s calamitous 2-1 defeat at Real Madrid, and a 4-3 loss on aggregate, with the Spanish side now going on to face Borussia Dortmund in London on 1 June. Bild gave a minute-by-minute account of the agony before the “bitter defeat just before the end ..read more

Real Madrid will face Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League final after substitute Joselu struck twice late on to snatch a 2-1 victory (4-3 agg) and end Bayern Munich's hopes of lifting the European Cup for a seventh time, as their manager Thomas Tuchel was left fuming over an offside call that denied the German side a late equaliser Real Madrid find a way to final again as late Joselu double breaks Bayern hearts ..read more

Six-times European champions Bayern Munich missed out on returning to the Champions League final for the first time since winning the competition in 2019-20. The 2-1 defeat in Madrid left manager Thomas Tuchel ruing an offside decision that denied his side a late equaliser and meant there will be no rematch of the all-German final in 2013, when Bayern beat Dortmund to win their fifth European title ‘Disastrous’: Tuchel rues contentious offside call as Bayern cave in Madrid ..read more

Logical brilliance of attacker stood out as he played with startling sense of freedom to lead team back to another final At what point, exactly, does the relentlessly unpredictable start to become oddly routine? As ever, this was an absolute nut‑show of a football match inside Real Madrid’s steamy Centre Court‑style megadrome. Every ex-Stoke, Newcastle and Eintracht Frankfurt journeyman has his day. And this was the day of Joselu, Madrid’s 34‑year‑old own-brand Benzema, who scored with two of his first three touches in the final moments of a Champions League semi-final to turn 1-0 down into 2 ..read more

Matthijs de Ligt had 103rd-minute equaliser flagged offside ‘We accept that we lost, but it should not have happened’ Carlo Ancelotti shrugged and called it “something magical, without much explanation”, after Real Madrid scored two goals in two and a half minutes to complete another astonishing Champions League comeback. But Thomas Tuchel insisted that there was a more tangible reason for a dramatic defeat at the Bernabéu: a “very unusual” individual error from his goalkeeper Manuel Neuer and a refereeing mistake that denied his Bayern Munich team a 103rd-minute equaliser and felt like a “b ..read more

Alphonso Davies put Bayern in front but the hosts found another late fightback to book a Champions League final with Dortmund 2 min: Sane tries to bring down a long pass but Mendy hassles him from behind and the Bayern man loses control. 38 sec: Kroos, making his 150th Champions League appearance tonight, sends in an aimless corner. Bayern clear their lines easily ..read more

Just ridiculous. Just Real Madrid. The team that appear to own this competition, that have some mystical hold over the trophy they refuse to let go of, are in the final again because, well, of course they are. Late on another wild, magical night here, the Santiago Bernabéu launched into a familiar chant. “That’s how Madrid win,” it goes. Again and again and again, each time more epic, more absurd than the last, this team a force that cannot be contained. The closer you think you are, the further away it is, as Bayern Munich found like so many others before them. Thomas Tuchel’s team had held o ..read more

Defender left Spurs having fallen out of favour but has become a mainstay for Tuchel and could still have England value “Are you serious? Why? Just why? Now we know Bayern won’t be getting a trophy this season. Kane needs a friend. Thank you for taking him, love from north London.” This was the kind of thing that Eric Dier would have seen on his Instagram page on 11 January – were he inclined to read the comments. The centre-half had posted for the first time as a Bayern Munich player, after his transfer from Tottenham, and it should be said that most of the messages were positive, Spurs fans ..read more