To the semi-finals of the UEFA champions league, Atletico Madrid had the upper hand going into their second leg encounter with Bayern Munich at the Alianz Arena after Saul Niguez’s superb strike gave the Spanish side a 1-0 win last week.
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Bayern lost the semi-final first leg 1-0 in Spain, and went out on away goals despite beating Atletico 2-1 in return match in Munich on Tuesday.
Bayern had 33 attempts on goal and enjoyed 72 per cent of possession but could only muster one more goal as Lewandowski headed home from close range in the 74th minute, while Torres saw his penalty saved by Neuer.
Rummenigge felt the France forward’s goal was offside, and the former West Germany global also took issue with the awarding of a late Atletico penalty – although Fernando Torres failed to convert the spot kick.
It was Robert Leandowski, who put Bayern ahead on the night with a good header. “We have developed as a team… we love the way we play”.
“It doesn’t matter who we play in the final”, the Argentine told reporters.
Bayern needed to score two goals in 25 minutes.
“They see that playing with this intensity and do it consistently and there has to be genuine belief. Now we’ve beaten two of the three best teams in Europe”. “We deserved it”, he said in a post-match television interview.
The Spanish side is fairly inexperienced at European level, with this startling statistic suggesting how much of an achievement it was for Simeone’s side to reach their second Champions Final in just three years.
Bayern’s opening goal, Muller’s penalty miss and tempers flaring on the touchline – Pep Guardiola and Diego Simeone animatedly disagreeing over a decision – had already made for an entertaining first half. They can add the DFB-Pokal (German Cup) when they play Borussia Dortmund in the final towards the end of the month.
“I’ve helped the players here, we’ve played as well as we could and I’m very satisfied with the performances that we’ve given”.
“You have to congratulate the team, the players, the coaches and the fans”.
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“We did a lot right and only a few things wrong, unfortunately it wasn’t enough”.
