Munich: Sergio Ramos and Cristiano Ronaldo scored two goals apiece as Real Madrid advanced to the Champions League final by stunning title holder Bayern Munich 4-0 on Tuesday.
Real completed a 5-0 aggregate victory and will now play either Chelsea or Atletico Madrid in the May 24 final in Lisbon. Bayern's slumped to their worst home defeat in the competition, and equaled their heaviest loss overall - 4-0 away to Barcelona in 2009.
Real had never won in Munich in 10 previous matches, losing nine of them. But this time, Carlo Ancelotti's team put their stamp on the game early and struck with awesome efficiency.
Ramos headed home in the 16th and 20th minutes, and Ronaldo raised his tally to a competition record 16 goals for the season to take Madrid one win away from a record 10th title. Madrid is in its 13th final.
Real had lost three consecutive semifinals, including a 2012 shootout when Ramos missed a penalty.
It was a bitter defeat for Bayern coach Pep Guardiola, who had so much success against Real when he was in charge of Barcelona. Bayern were seeking to become the first team to defend the Champions League title.
Real's sweeping, fast counterattacks paced by Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, Gareth Bale and Angel Di Maria, along with their tenacious tackling when Bayern tried to come out of the hosts' own half, were a huge problem for Bayern's defense but the first two goals came from set pieces, as well as the last.
A corner by Luka Modric was met By Ramos, who headed down past Manuel Neuer, as Dante failed to challenge the Madrid defender.
A minute later, Dante was booked for bringing down Ronaldo.
The second goal came after Di Maria's swinging free kick into the box. Pepe nodded the ball on and the diving Ramos headed into the net.
Real's third was a fast break that left the Bayern defense trailing far behind.
Benzema fed Bale, who easily outpaced Jerome Boateng and passed to the unmarked Ronaldo, who calmly slotted home in the 34th. Ronaldo then fired a low free kick through the wall in the 89th to complete Madrid's superb performance.
Bayern nerves frayed after the first three goals and the match threatened to get out of hand. Star winger Franck Ribery failed to make an impact and was substituted in the second half. Striker Mario Mandzukic was involved in several incidents and did not come out for the second half.
Ronaldo and Bale both missed an empty net when Neuer twice mistimed clearing attempts far outside the penalty box. Ronaldo saw another effort sail wide, although he might have done better by passing to Benzema.
The match lost intensity in the second half as Madrid protected their lead while the demoralised Bayern kept possession but rarely threatened.
A minute of silence was held before kickoff in memory of former Barcelona coach Tito Vilanova and Vujadin Boskov, a former Serbian coach of Real Madrid. Both died last week.
####
Comments
0 comment