11
Bayern Munich player ratings vs Real Madrid: Three Ballon d’Or contenders in the one forward line! Luis Diaz, Michael Olise & Harry Kane help Bavarians break Blancos curse in epic Champions League quarter-final comeback
The home fans were fearing the worst after Manuel Neuer gifted Arda Guler a goal inside the opening minute and even though Bayern quickly equalised through Aleksandar Pavlovic, Madrid’s Turkish midfielder restored the visitors’ lead with a fine free-kick.
Bayern levelled again, this time through prolific No.9 Harry Kane, but they were almost immediately done on the break, with Kylian Mbappe taking a pass from Vinicius Junior in his stride before sweeping the ball past Neuer to make it 3-2 to Madrid, and 4-4 on aggregate.
The second half wasn’t quite as chaotic as the first, but the finish was pure drama, with Eduardo Camavinga getting himself sent off for two silly bookings and Bayern made the most of their numerical advantage.
Luis Diaz lashed home Bayern’s crucial third goal before Michael Olise put the seal on a monumental victory for the hosts by bending the ball into the top left corner of Andriy Lunin’s goal after picking up a pass from Kane wide on the right flank.
Below, GOAL rates all of the Bayern players on show in Munich…
Goalkeeper & Defence
Manuel Neuer (3/10):
After his heroics in Madrid, one of the most famous sweeper-keepers in history immediately gifted Real a goal with a dreadful misplaced pass, while his positioning on Guler’s free-kick was seriously suspect. He did, at least, make a good reaction stop to deny Mbappe in the second half.
Josip Stanisic (4/10):
Taken off at the end of a weak first-half performance best summed up by the way in which he remained on the ground in order to look for a non-existent free-kick in the lead-up to Madrid’s third goal.
Dayot Upamecano (6/10):
Put in a couple of expertly-timed tackles on Vinicius and stepped forward brilliantly to pick out Kane to make it 2-2. However, the error-prone centre-back was caught out of position on more than one occasion and remains a difficult player to work out.
Jonathan Tah (5/10):
Made one big block on Mbappe but didn’t convince at all in the centre of defence and, like Upamecano, was guilty of a real lack of awareness at times.
Konrad Laimer (6/10):
Got across brilliantly to put a challenge in on Mbappe when the forward looked certain to score but gave away the free that Guler scored to put the visitors back in front and was loose in possession at times. Switched to right-back following the introduction of Alphonso Davies and did well.
Midfield
Joshua Kimmich (8/10):
Helped drag his side level with a fine corner for midfielder partner Pavlovic before later drawing a good save out of Lunin. Bayern’s most creative player on the night and also put the foot in as much as possible. Just a class act.
Aleksandar Pavlovic (6/10):
Stood his ground well to head home Bayern’s equaliser but, in general play, he was poor, struggling to exert anywhere near as much influence over the game as his midfield partner.
Attack
Michael Olise (8/10):
Only showed glimpses of what he can do during a surprisingly quiet first half but went close with a couple of classic curling efforts after the break before finally getting it right in injury time. A terrific talent.
Serge Gnabry (4/10):
Supposedly fit to start but he didn’t look it during the opening 45 minutes, and the big surprise was that he was left on for an hour. Offered nothing.
Luis Diaz (8/10):
Always looking to take the game to Madrid and unlucky to see a good effort fortuitously deflected wide by Jude Bellingham. He failed dismally to get the ball out of his feet after finding himself in on goal midway through the second half but more than made amends with a crucial strike.
Harry Kane (8/10):
Another fine performance against Madrid from the Englishman, who took his goal wonderfully well and also held the ball up brilliantly all evening. Such a clever footballer.
