It was an embarrassing and disappointing moment when Cristiano Ronaldo drilled the final nail in Bayern Munich’s coffin in the second half of extra time. However, no one can argue about the fact that the poor referring decisions made the job much easier for Los Blancos on the night as Arturo Vidal was wrongly sent off just before the final whistle while two of Real’s goals should have deemed clear offside.
The incredibly awful referring decisions have reopened the debate about using the technology in the sport of football. For Bayern however, it was a harsh and disappointing 120 minutes of footballing action as they fully deserved to go through if not for the officials’.
Here are the best and the worst Bayern players against Real Madrid last night.
Manuel Neuer(9/10): Once again an excellent performance by the 30-year-old. Neuer saved more than two clear cut goal scoring chances thanks to his amazing reflexes. Couldn’t have done much for any of the four goals he conceded on the night.
Philip Lahm(7.5/10): Had a tough outing once again against the power-packed Real lineup. Got caught on the break many times, and kinda struggled to keep up with the marauding Cristiano Ronaldo. Although he looked very calm and composed in possession phases.
Jerome Boateng(8.5/10): Performed exceptionally well even though he wasn’t fully fit to play the whole ninety minutes. But the German International showed incredible resilience and fighting spirit as he stood strong on the defensive line along with Mats Hummels.
Mats Hummels(8.5/10): Hummels also wasn’t 100% before going into the match but the former Dortmund captain even surpassed Boateng thanks to an industrious job in the backline. The German International made a numerous number of clearance and well-timed tackles throughout the game.
David Alaba(7/10): Was one of the players who let down the Bayern camp. While he was good with his positional play, the Austrian lacked any sort of end product. His crosses weren’t spot on and his link up play didn’t trouble the opposition either. While he also let in a numerous number of counter attacks from the left flank.
Xabi Alonso(7/10): struggled to emphasise his qualities in the Bayern midfield. The 34-year-old was often too slow to react to the loose balls, and the quick pressing from the opposition didn’t help his cause either.
Arturo Vidal(8.5/10): He was one of the better performers on the night. The Chilean showed his true fighting spirit as he dived into several well-timed tackles. However, luck wasn’t on his side, as he was wrongly given a second yellow for another perfectly timed tackle just before the final whistle.
Arjen Robben(9/10): It wasn’t the best first halves for Arjen Robben but the Dutchman was the pinpoint of each and every Bayern attack in the second. Did extremely well to survive the whole 120 minutes and pose a solid threat for the opposition defence.
Thiago Alcantara(7/10): Failed to instigate Bayern’s flow in midfield. Did nothing more than combining with teammates with some short passes and having a go at one or two long distance efforts. A dire one for the former Barcelona man.
Franck Ribery(7.5/10): It was not the game he was hoping for as he too struggled to produce something in attack, mostly due to his lack of fitness. Had a lot of opportunities to break but his poor touches let him down more than once.
Robert Lewandowski(7.5/10): The Polish International failed to live up to the expectations as he was very bad with his movements in the attack which almost made him non-existent throughout the match. Although he showed terrific composure to convert the spot kick in the second but that was his only good attacking moment throughout the game.
Subs
Thomas Muller(7/10): Replaced Xabi Alonso, in which happened to be his final game at the Bernabeu, to add more firepower in Bayern’s offensive lines. However, the German International also failed to provide anything in terms of offensive work.
Douglas Costa(7/10): Replaced Franck Ribery in a like for like substitution but the Brazilian was not as useful as Ribery. Apart from one dangerous cross into the box, the ex-Shakhtar winger offered nothing on the left flank for Bayern.
Joshua Kimmich(7/10): Had to be called on after Vidal’s sending off. Kimmich wasn’t able to make a quick impact on the game.
