Bayern Munich 0-4 Real Madrid: five Champions League talking points
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Version 0 of 1. 1 Possession is meaningless if you cannot defend set pieces For all the pre-match discussion of styles and philosophies, two good old‑fashioned set pieces proved Bayern's undoing. No need to criticise tiki-taka, sterile possession or false 9s here; instead, Bayern got the basics badly wrong and were twice punished by Sergio Ramos. Fingers will be pointed at Dante, who appeared culpable on both occasions, but it was a malaise that spread through the entire Bayern side and undermined any hope they had of getting back into the match. For all the talk of how they would break through Real's defences, they did not bother to check if the back door was locked. 2 Suspensions ruin the final – it is time for a rethink Roy Keane famously said that winning the Champions League in 1999 meant "nothing" to him because of the fact that he was suspended for the final and it was hard not to have sympathy for Xabi Alonso when he launched into an ill-advised tackle on Bastian Schweinsteiger late in the first half here. The result was an inevitable yellow card, and with it a one-match suspension – ruling him out of the showdown in Lisbon next month. It felt unnecessarily cruel on the Spaniard, a man who had done more than most to put Real in such a commanding position. Suspensions for red cards – the reason John Terry missed the Final two years ago – cannot be argued against but an accumulation of three bookings in nine games should not deprive Real of one of their finest players in the final. Perhaps Uefa can rethink the policy. 3 Title won, but Guardiola is still under pressure Pep Guardiola is unlikely to remember 2014 with any fondness. His Bayern side have retained the Bundesliga in his first season in charge and may yet claim the German Cup, but this defeat in the competition that means the most will leave an ugly scar. On a personal level he has also had to deal with the death of Tito Vilanova, his former assistant. Football pales into insignificance in comparison with such a tragedy but Bayern will expect some answers next season. Indeed, Guardiola's entire philosophy is being questioned, despite a managerial CV that already includes 17 major honours. Robert Lewandowski is on his way from Borussia Dortmund but it is clear other reinforcements are needed, particularly in central defence. It will be fascinating to see how he and Bayern attempt to ensure a humiliation such as this never happens again. 4 Tottenham influence holds strong for Madrid A penny for the thoughts of Daniel Levy, the Tottenham Hotspur chairman, during this game. As rumours swirled that he had approached Ajax for the services of their manager, Frank De Boer, two of the club's former charges were running the show for Real Madrid. Luka Modric and Gareth Bale were integral parts of that hugely exciting Tottenham side that reached the Champions League quarter-finals just three years ago, but while they are established among the elite their former club is not. It is difficult to replace players of such quality but the money earned from the sale of both has been spent. What Tottenham would give to have them back. 5 Real love the BBC: Bale, Benzema and Cristiano Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema cost £190m between them, so perhaps we should not be surprised when they take your breath away. But this was a masterclass, pure and simple. The talk beforehand was of Bayern being a team and Real a collection of individuals, but the way that the Spanish side's three attackers combined for Ronaldo's goal was worth the admission fee on its own. Bayern played into their hands – defending high up the pitch and leaving plenty of room for Ronaldo and Bale to exploit – but the BBC showed that they may be the trio that can finally fire Madrid to La Décima, the 10th European Cup the club and their fans so desperately crave. A total of £905m has been spent since they won their ninth, 12 years ago, but perhaps this time they have invested wisely. |