Real Madrid Blowout Bayern Munich, Reach UCL Final

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Real Madrid travelled to Germany for the second-leg of their Champions League semi-final today with Bayern Munich.  Madrid barely edged the defending champions in the first-meeting 1-0 and now playing on the road Madrid needed another solid performance in this hostile environment.  Munich are normally unbeatable in their home stadium, but today found themselves in trouble very early in the match.

Madrid centerback Sergio Rames scored a pair of goals in the opening stages of the game to put Munich in a three goal hole.  First on a corner kick by Modrić, Ramos made a late run to the back-post where he was given a free header that he put into the net (16').  Just minutes later on another set-piece Ramos won a second header in front of Munich's goal to increase the lead.  Di María delivered the free-kick into the box and Pepe helped the cross along with a flick header to Ramos at the back-post for the score (20').

Real Madrid added one more goal in the first-half on a counter-attack through the middle of the field.  Bale was released on a break-away and at the last moment laid the ball off to Ronaldo who had a free shot and scored through the legs of keeper Neuer coming off his line (34').  By the end of the first-half the match was essentially over.  Bayern came into the match already down one goal from the previous match and found themselves in far greater hole by half-time.

Now needing five goals to overcome their tremendous deficit, Munich essentially gave up in the second-half.  Following the half-time break Bayern manager Pep Guardiola removed the central striker Mandzukic and inserted the defensive midfielder Javi Martínez.  Later other attacking players Müller and Ribery were taken out in place of Götze and Pizarro.  None of the changes made a positive impact on the game and Madrid even added a final goal at the end of regulation.

Ronaldo had two opportunities to score from well-placed free-kicks at the end of the match and finished the second chance.  His first free-kick was blocked by the wall, but the second time Ronaldo fired the shot low and rolled the ball under the wall as they jumped to score (90').

Surprisingly this is the first time in over ten years that Real Madrid have made it the Champions League final.  Tomorrow their opponent will be decided when Chelsea take on Atletico Madrid for their semi-final second-leg at Stamford Bridge.

Real Madrid Win First Leg Meeting With Bayern Munich

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The Champions League action continued today with Real Madrid hosting Bayern Munich in the other semi-final first leg.  The defending champions have been quite exceptional this season, particularly in the Bundesliga winning in a landslide.  Real Madrid, on the other hand, probably will not win La Liga, but did just come off a big win against rival Barcelona to lift the Copa del Rey.

Today Bayern Munich got off the a great start despite playing on the road.  By half-time the Germans had nearly eighty percent of possession!  However, Munich could not produce a goal and found themselves trailing at the break.

Similar to their last match in the Copa del Rey final, Madrid played against a possession driven team and had to rely on the counter-attack to get ahead.  Madrid scored on one such counter-attack when Rolando played the rightback Coentrão in behind the Bayern back line.  Coentrão was then able to roll a pass across the face of goal for Benzema at the back-post.  Benzema easily finished with a tap in to take the lead, scoring the only goal of the match (19').

The second-half was more of the same with Munich keeping the vast majority of possession, yet failing to score.  Even with fifteen corner-kicks by the end of the match Bayern could not produce an equalizer and Madrid keeper Casillas came away with a clean sheet.

Expect Bayern to score at least one goal in the replay next week as the two square off for the second leg in Germany.  It is rare for Munich to be held without scoring and Real Madrid will have to come up big to shut them out twice in a row.

Bayern Munich Eliminate Arsenal From UCL

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Arenal were always going to have a tough task overcoming a two goal deficit against Bayern Munich.  Today the second leg of the Champions League fixture was played in Germany as the Gunners hoped to avoid elimination.

The Allianz Arena was indeed rocking as Bayern Munich hosted the English club, and as expected featured the always dangerous tandem of Robben and Ribery in the winger positions.  Because the two wingers are so effective, the fullbacks of Arsenal were given almost no chances to push forward and provide support in the attack.  This inability to pressure to Bayern's defense allowed the German club to dominate possession and dictate the tempo of the match.

By the end of the first-half neither club scored which played into the hands of Munich.  After half-time though Bayern managed to extend their lead when Schweinsteiger was left alone in front of the Arsenal goal.  Ribery picked him out in the box and Schweinsteiger had enough time to control the pass before firing off the shot (54').

Now down by three goals on aggregate, Arsenal were in serious trouble with time running out.  Soon after the goal by Bayern, Lukas Podolski managed to get one back for the Gunners when he was able to take the ball off defender Philipp Lahm.  Once he had the ball, Podolski went for power on the shot and slipped the ball inside the near-post to beat keeper Neuer (57').

Unfortunately for Arsenal the goal by Podolski was the only goal they could produce.  Munich even had a chance to add another goal when a penalty was awarded following a soft foul on Robben in the box.  Several times over the course of the match Robben went down quite easily and late in the match he finally fooled the referee.  The football Gods were not fooled however, and Arsenal keeper Fabianski blocked the penalty.

This is the second year in a row Arsenal have been eliminated from the Champions League at the hands of Bayern Munich.  The German giants have been nearly unbeatable in the Champions League as well as the Bundesliga.  Bayern Munich have all but secure a league title and are in good shape to win the Champions League for a second straight year.

France Mount Come-Back for World Cup Finals

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(3-2) Aggregate               

France came into today's World Cup qualifier down two goal to the Ukraine after a scoreless effort in Kiev on Friday.  Each team had a player sent off in the first meeting, Koscielny for France and Kucher for Ukraine, and France especially felt the need to make other changes to the line-up.  Benzema and Valbuena started over Giroud and Nasri which gave the offense much more energy.  The most important changes proved to be in the defense though, with Sakho and Varane replacing Abidal and Koscienly.

Playing in front of their home fans France were much more lively than the first meeting and created all the early chances.  Centerback Sakho benefited from a shot by Ribèry that was saved by the Ukraine keeper.  Pyatov did well to stop the initial shot, but the rebound fell right for Sakho who was waiting in the right place (22').

France kept the pressure on the Ukraine and racked up more shots.  Benzema had one goal denied by an offsides call that was shown to be an error on replay.  The missed call didn't make much difference however, and Benzema scored a clean goal moments later.  Cabaye sent a skipping shot towards goal that was deflected right into the path of Benzema for the finish (34').

The second goal leveled the aggregate score, but the Ukaine could still put the pressure back on France with one crucial away-goal.  Neither side made any changes at half-time as both mangers felt their squads were sound.  Unfortunately for the Ukraine a costly mistake by centerback Khacheridi left them short-handed for the remainder of the match.  Khacheridi had seen a yellow card in the first-half and saw a second following a foul on Ribèry just minutes after the break.

With an extra man to their advantage France were able to keep the pressure on the Ukraine and score the deciding goal.  Sakho took credit for the goal, though it was tough to see if the goal was not an own-goal scored by Rakitskiy.  Sakho was right behind the defender as the cross came in, and the ball ended up in the net which is all France truly cared about (72').

The Ukraine could not grind out a goal and will go home with heavy hearts coming just short of a World Cup appearance.  France were not the only nation to secure a spot in Brazil today as Portugal, Greece, and Croatia all won their playoff matches.  

Ukraine Shutout France in World Cup Qualifier

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Several nations in the UEFA groups have already qualified for the 2014 World Cup including Germany, Spain, England, Italy, Russia, and the Netherlands.  Others like Portugal, Greece, Croatia, and Sweden still have a chance to qualify through a playoff round.  France and the Ukraine are among the nations paired up in the playoff round for a spot in Brazil next summer.

Niether side settled into the match during the second-half with France playing decently well in midfield, but poor in the attacking third.  The Ukraine on the other hand were stout in defense and pushing forward almost exclusively on counter-attacks.  France had the star power in the likes of Ribèry, Nasri, Evra, and Giroud, but the Ukraine had better chemistry and used that familiarity to break the French defense.

In the second-half Roman Zozulya scored the first goal of the match for the Ukraine.  Edmar Aparesida played the forward behind the French defense with a first-touch pass and Zozulya scored from close range (61').

France used all three substitutions hoping give life to their offense with Benzema, Sissoko, and Valbuena entering the match.  Unfortunatley, nobody on the French side could beat the sturdy Ukraine defense and the lead stretched further when Kocienly was called for a Penalty.  The centerback knocked down Zozulya in the box to conceded the Penalty and saw a yellow card for his offense.  Yarmolenko scored from the spot and the Ukraine were rather comfortable from then on (82').

Koscielny made his day worse when he got into a scrap with Olexandr Kucher.  Koscielny hit the Ukraine captain and saw a red card for his senseless action, leaving him inelligable for the upcoming rematch.  Olexandr Kucher returned the favor though, as he saw a second yellow card in stoppage-time making him also inelligable for the rematch.

France are in a tight hole behind two goal to a very strong defensive team.  France should play better in front of their home fans, but the Ukraine are certainly in the favorable position.

Bayern Munich Road to Repeat, Crush ManCity

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In Champions League play, defending title winner Bayern Munich travelled to England to face the toughest Group D opponent Manchester City.  Last season Bayern Munich soundly won the Bundesliga before winning the all-German Champions League final.  Today they proved they are again serious contenders in the tournament with a decisive win over Manchester City.

Franck Ribéry got the German club started early when he was able to cut the ball inside to his right foot and beat keeper Joe Hart to the near-post (7').  Bayern Munich were around Manchester City's goal often which prevented City from building much on offense.

After half-time Manchester City had too many breakdowns that lead to more scoring for the visitors.  Thomas Müller made a well timed run behind defender Gaël Clichy who missed his clearance on long ball into the box.  Müller was able to take touch around the keeper before finishing the goal (56').  Moments later Müller created a turnover in Manchester City's defense and played Arjen Robben forward into space.  Robben beat defender Nastasić to work the shot for a third Bayern goal (59').

Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini used all three substitutes in the second-half and the changes worked in his favor.  Álvaro Negredo replaced Edin Džeko and scored a late goal for the home club.  Negredo made a nice turn to get space for a shot on his left foot and he curled the shot just enough to get the deflection off the post and into the net (79').  

City then had a great chance to score another late goal when Yaya Touré was tackled from behind just outside the penalty area.  Defender Boateng was the last defender and missed his tackle earning him a red card.  David Silva hit the ensuing freekick well but off the crossbar.  Fortunately for Munich the ejection came with only a few minutes left and they were able to hold on with ten men.

Manchester City will get a chance to return the favor of a home defeat later in December when the two replay in Germany.  City need to see a lot of improvement though, if they wish to challenge the German giant.  

Bayern Munich Lift Champions League Trophy

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The all-German Champions League final promised to be exciting with rivals Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund squaring-off in London.  Bayern Munich already ran away with the Bundesliga title, a staggering twenty-five points clear of Dortmund in second-place, and had the added motivation after losing to Chelsea in last years final in their own stadium no less.

From the start of the match, Dortmund put the pressure on Munich and create all the early chances.  Lewandowski, Blaszczykowski, Reus, and Bender all had shots on goal that Munich keeper Neuer had to deal with.  Munich did start to work themselves into the match, but by half-time neither side were able to score.

After the break the game really started to open up, and Munich broke the deadlock when Mandžukić scored the first goal of the match.  Ribery played Robben into space at the end-line who then found the striker alone in front of the Dortmund goal for an easy finish (60').  The lead did not last long for Munich however, as a penalty was conceded when defender Dante made a sloppy challenge on Reus in the box.  Gündagon scored from the spot to level the score for Dortmund (67').

Though the score was now level, Munich were actually quite lucky with the call, or rather the lack of a call.  Dante had been booked in the first-half, and should have been booked again for the foul that led to the penalty.  For whatever reason he was not, and Munich were allowed to finish the match with all eleven players.

As regulation was about to expire, Robben came up big once again for Bayern Munich and scored the deciding goal.  A long-ball out of the back fell for Ribery who did well to trap and play Robben in-on-goal with a nice heel flick.  Robben finished comfortably to secure the Champions League trophy with almost no time left on the clock (89').

Not to say that Munich did not deserve the title, but allowing Dante to remain on the field was certainly a big factor in the final moments of the match.  There is no question that he should have been sent off with two yellow cards, which would have drastically helped Dortmund in the last twenty minutes of the match.

Barcelona Break-Down, Bayern Munich Coast

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The all-German Champions League final is now assured as Bayern Munich easily handle Barcelona a second time.  Barcelona striker Messi played and scored over the weekend, but today he was left on the bench for the entire match.  True he was not very effective in the first game against Bayern Munich, but down four goals you expect the best finisher in the world right now to play.

Without Messi on the field, Barcelona were quite dull and rather predictable with their passing.  They also seemed to lack the spark that gives them confidence in these big games against top clubs.  Bayern Munich on the other hand were quite comfortable passing through the midfield and extremely organized in defense.

Barcelona were outplayed in the first-half and after the break Munich's lead further increased.  Robben was played into space wide right with a good pass out of the back by defender Alaba.  Cutting across to his preferred left foot, Robben was able to shake defender Adriano before curling his shot around the keeper and into the net (48').

As if the five goal deficit was not already insurmountable, a Barcelona own-goal completely killed their spirit.  Ribery was attempting to hit forward Mandzukic at the far-post, but defender Pique managed to get in-between the two Munich players.  However, his attempted clearance came off his shin awkwardly and settled in his own net (72').  Shortly after Müller scored a final goal for Bayern when Ribery played a cross to the far-post that he finished with a header (76').

Bayern Munich finished the semifinal round with an aggregate score 7-0 and advances to the Champions League final for the second straight year.  Munich are slight favorites against Borussia Dortmund and the two clubs play each other this weekend in the Bundesliga.  The outcome will have little effect on the league standings, but it should be a good preview of the upcoming final in London.