Bayern Munich vs Atletico Madrid a few quick thoughts
Dan Tracey
May 4, 2016
1,659 Views
- It was billed as the battle of Attack vs Defence
- Bayern may have won the battle but they didn’t win the war as Diego Simeone masterminded a result good enough to see Atletico reach a second Champions League Final in 3 seasons
- Bayern’s hope of a goodbye treble for Pep Guardiola lay in wake as Atletico edge through on away goals
- It was always going to be a backs to the walls performance for Atletico as Bayern looked to overturn Atletico’s slim advantage from the 1st leg
- And it was Bayern who laid an absolute siege at Jan Oblak’s goal last night, registering 33 shots on goal last night
- They peppered the opposition goal with efforts but couldn’t find an early breakthrough that would have settled the nerves of players and fans alike
- Robert Lewandowski had arguably the best early effort as he rounded Oblak but saw his effort cleared off the line
- Diego Simeone said that his said weren’t just going to sit back but they couldn’t do anything else as they attempted to absorb wave after wave of Bayern pressure
- After half an hour the first chink in the Atletico armour was spotted. Jose Gimenez giving away a free kick just outside the box and with nearly the whole Atletico side in the wall, there was only one option for Xabi Alonso and that was to hit low and hard
- He did exactly that and with the aid of a deflection the ball fizzed past the helpless Oblak and into the back of the net to give Bayern the lead and more importantly even the tie
- It seemingly went to bad for worse for Gimenez as minutes later he gave away a Penalty and gave Bayern the perfect opportunity to take the lead in the tie
- Thomas Muller stepped up and unusually for a German his Penalty wasn’t great. It was a comfortable height for Oblak to palm away and a huge opportunity for Bayern was spurned
- Half time and it was all even, could Atletico go at least 45 minutes without conceding?
- Well 10 minutes into the second half they went one better
- With Bayern looking to get a tie winning goal, Atletico’s game plan came into effect
- Antoine Griezmann latched onto a through ball. There may have been a suspicion of offside but Griezmann didn’t wait for a flag as he slotted home to give Atletico that all important away goal. Now Bayern had to score 3 on the night as it stood
- With the fans willing on Bayern they were relentless in the search for now 2 goals while making sure they weren’t hit on the counter
- Jan Oblak was seemingly equal to everything that Bayern threw at him
- But on 74 minutes Arturo Vidal’s inch perfect cross gave Robert Lewandowski the opportunity to head home from 4 yards and now we were set for a Grandstand finish
- Bayern then turned the pressure up even more but in doing that they risked being exposed at the back
- And the pendulum swung back in Atletico’s favour when they were awarded a Penalty to wrap up the tie
- After watching the replays it was clear that Fernando Torres was fouled outside the box
- Torres stepped up himself but he then saw his spot kick saved by Manuel Neuer to still give Bayern some hope
- Forward Bayern came again and still Oblak was keeping everything at bay
- He made an excellent save from David Alaba’s 20 yard volley late on and with that Bayern’s last realistic chance of snatching a dramatic win
- There were 5 minutes of injury time but Bayern couldn’t make it count
- And the when the whistle finally went there was jubilation and somewhat relief from Diego Simeone and his Atletico side
- Simeone once again getting the better of Guardiola – tempers flared during the game with these two having a touchline row but it was Simeone who comes out on top
- For me Jan Oblak was the man of the match he had a phenomenal game and Atletico although losers on the night are well worth their progession to the Final
- Now they will sit and wait to see if it’s a repeat of the 2014 final where they will look to exact revenge on their closest rivals Real Madrid or whether they face Manchester City in what will be Manuel Pellegrini’s last fixture in charge. We’ll find out Tonight
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