The semi-final stage of the current Champions League has turned into a confrontation between clubs from Germany and France. In the first match, PSG confidently defeated Leipzig and brought the French forward in this duel. Bavaria intended to avenge Julian Nagelsmann's team, which was to play against Lyon.
The Munich players, especially after scoring eight goals against Barcelona, were considered unconditional favorites. So, one of the Russian bookmakers offered to bet on their victory in regular time with a modest odds of 1.25, and on the success of Lyon - with a coefficient of 10.25.
However, the French team was not at all embarrassed by the role assigned to it, because earlier Rudy Garcia's wards knocked Juventus and Manchester City out of the fight, also being considered an obvious underdog.
"Appetite comes with eating. Now we want to reach the final and, having played great, we are able to do it. Bayern have no weaknesses, but there are no perfect teams. If we manage to impose our own game and competently manage the ball, combine well, then we can also achieve something. We must believe in ourselves, ”Garcia was quoted as saying on the UEFA official website.
Both teams on the eve of the semifinal meeting did without injuries and disqualifications. In this situation, the coaches decided not to change the winning line-ups and released on the field from the first minutes the same players who played in the quarterfinals. So, Garcia left Moussa Dembele in reserve, who scored a double in the match with Manchester City.
Lyon's missed chances and Bayern's incredible goal
In the very first minutes of the meeting, it became clear exactly how Lyon intends to try to beat the favorite. Bayern took control of the ball, but the opponents left them with a minimum of space on the central axis. In defense, three central defenders have traditionally acted at once: Fernando Marsal, Marcelo and Jason Denaier.
True, in such a situation, Yosua Kimmich and Alfonso Davis were able to escape on the flanks from the slow Maxwell Cornet and Leo Dubois.
Lyon, having taken the ball away, did not try to mindlessly take it away from their own goal. Already in the third minute, the young Maxance Kaker, with a magnificent pass across the entire field, brought Memphis Depay one on one with Manuel Neuer, but the Netherlands midfielder did not hit the near corner. In this episode, it is worth noting the actions of the goalkeeper, who remained on his feet to the end, blocking the target.
The French team did not stop at one created moment and continued to catch the opponent on counterattacks. On the 17th minute, Karl Toko Ekambi missed a 100% chance. The forward on the right flank managed to get away from the fast Davis, but shot into the near post.
Such extravagance simply could not fail to be punished, and it took place in the next attack. As often happens, everything was decided by the class of footballers. If Ekambi missed his moment, then Serge Gnabry himself created a goal from almost nothing.
Having received the ball on the right flank, the German moved to the center, competently working with the body, left several defenders and accurately shot into the far top nine without a chance for Antoni Lopes. And it was Cornet who did not follow Gnabry in this episode, behind whose back the transmission passed.
Having opened the score, Bayern hastened to calm down the game so as not to allow Lyon to feel free again. Periodically, the Munich team brought the matter to shots on goal, but Lopes acted confidently on the last line of the opponent. In the first half, he chalked up five saves, while Neuer - none.
But on the 33rd minute of the meeting, Antoni was powerless. Bayern once again caught the opponent on counterpressing, and Perisic shot Robert Lewandowski from the left edge of the penalty area. The Pole, by some miracle from a meter, failed to get the ball into the net, but Gnabry, who happened to be nearby, corrected his mistake and made a double. Serge brought the number of goals in the current Champions League season to nine and came out on to a clean third place in the tournament's scorer race.
Lyon pressure and Bayern's 11th Champions League final
Immediately after the break, Rudy Garcia and Hans-Dieter Flick made replacements. The Bayern mentor removed Jerome Boateng, who regularly allowed opponents to run behind his back, from the field and released Niklas Süle. In turn, the coach of "Lyon" instead of the inconspicuous Bruno Guimarães released Thiago Mendes.
The Munich team began the second half of the meeting more actively, who quickly almost brought the score to a devastating one. Perisic, after a perfect pass from his partner, ran away one-on-one with Lopes, but failed to outplay the Portuguese.
The French team responded with the first shot on target of someone else's goal performed by Marcelo - Neuer calmly took the ball into his hands.
Soon, Garcia threw another fresh player into battle, whose exit literally suggested itself - Dembele. And then Lyon almost closed the gap in the long run. Ussem Auar made a perfect cross from the left edge of the penalty area to Ekambi, but he shot straight into Neuer and did not convert the second moment. As in previous playoff matches, Garcia's players have added. The release of three fresh players in addition to Dembele and Mendes helped.
Flick responded with the exit of Kingsley Coman, so that the fast Frenchman on the edge of the attack rushed into the free zones left by his opponent. And Bayern gradually managed to bring down the attacking mood of the opponent. Only Auar tirelessly rushed into someone else's penalty area on the left flank.
Ten minutes before the final whistle, substitute Philippe Coutinho straightened the ball into the net from the goalkeeper's limits, but the referee canceled the goal due to an offside position at Leon Goretzky.
But in the 88th minute, Munich still brought the matter to defeat. Robert Lewandowski, who has scored in every meeting of the current Champions League in which he has participated, simply did not have the right to leave the field without a goal and interrupt the streak.
After serving from the set, the Pole sent a shell into the far corner from the line with the goalkeeper's head, scoring the 15th goal in the 2019/20 Champions League. Thus, Lewandowski and Gnabry have already chalked up 24 goals in one Champions League. This is more than the duo from Real Madrid Cristiano Ronaldo - Gareth Bale in the 2013/14 season (23).
For the 11th time, Bayern reached the Champions League final, where they will try to win the trophy for the sixth time against PSG. At the same time, a confrontation between two German specialists, Hans-Dieter Flick and Thomas Tuchel, will take place on the coaching bridge.