Atletico make Champions League final; beat Bayern

Champions League: Bayern Munich 2-1 Atletico Madrid [2-2 aggregate]

FIRST HALF

Bayern leads Atletico Madrid 1-0 as at first half thanks to Xavi Alonso in the 31st minute.

It was huge stroke of luck for the hosts as Alonso’s strike is deflected past Oblak.

Bayern thereby leveled the tie to 1-1 aggregate.

SECOND HALF

GOAL! Atletico Madrid equalizes. Antoine Griezmann beats the offside trap to snatch that vital away goal in 53rd minute

GOAL! Again Bayern levels with Atletico Madrid with 2-2 aggregate.

Lewandowski’s 39th goal of the season gets his side right back in it.

FULL TIME

Bayern Munich 2-1 Atletico Madrid (2-2 aggregate)

Atletico win on away goals. Incredible defensive display from Diego Simeone’s men

WHAT THE STARS ARE SAYING ABOUT THE MATCH:

Josep Guardiola (Bayern) head coach:

“I am proud of my team. We played very well in the second half in Madrid and the match here.

“We played very well against Juventus, against Benfica and against Atlético, with all this I can sleep quite good.”

Arturo Vidal (Bayern) midfielder:

“We were the better side in both games and we dominated the game. They took their chances well and for that they’re in the final.

“We’re sad, but we still have to trophies to win and we want to do just that.”

Antoine Griezmann (Atlético), Atlético forward: “We fear no one.

“We’ll keep working like this, cool blooded, whoever we play in the final.

“We’re there and we’ll celebrate.”

Jan Oblak (Atlético) goalkeeper:

“We needed to score and we did just that. We don’t have a preference of opponent. We just beat Barca, now Bayern.

“Real Madrid and Man City are amazing teams and we don’t mind. We’ll see what will happen.”

“Luckily at half time it was just 1-0 and we scored in the second half. In the end that’s the important thing.

“We’re into the final.

“We can be proud and happy. Bayern have amazing players up top and it was impossible to keep a clean sheet.”

“We knew it would be tough, difficult and first half we were bad.

“They scored, they won the first half 1-0 and in the second period we knew we needed to score at least one goal and we did that. I was not happy to concede, but that’s football.”

Fernando Torres (Atlético) forward:

“We want to win the tournament.

“We have the chance to create history, we want to win the tournament and the opponent is irrelevant.

“We’ve beaten the champions of Holland, Spain and now Germany to get through.”

“You saw we couldn’t stop their transitions, they created a lot of chances and we suffered a lot.

“In the second half we did differently, pressed them high, counter attack and we got the goal.

“In the end it was like the first half but the most important thing is we’re in the final.”

“It was very intense. I’m so proud of this team and group. It’s fully deserved.

“We’ve beaten some of the best teams in Europe on the way to the final and we’re closer to our dream.

“When you play against a side like Bayern Munich you can’t play the game you want.”

PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Xabi Alonso (Bayern)Xabi Alonso ran 12.08km tonight, further than anyone else on the pitch. Koke was just behind him with 12.03km.

Philipp Lahm (Bayern) completed more passes (83) than any other player.

Bayern got through 567 completed attempts, compared to Atlético’s 137.

Koke was the visitors’ top passer with just 25.

Thomas Müller and his Bayern Munich team-mates had 67% possession and managed 35 attempts on goal compared to Atlético’s seven tonight.

[Sportsmo]

For Diaspora Digital Media Updates click on Whatsapp, or Telegram. For eyewitness accounts/ reports/ articles, write to: citizenreports@diasporadigitalmedia.com. Follow us on X (Fomerly Twitter) or Facebook