Real Madrid on Tuesday booked their place in the final of the Champions League for the third consecutive season, courtesy of a nail-biting 4-3 aggregate victory over Bayern Munich.
The hosts went into the semi-final second leg at the Bernabeu in the driving seat following their 2-1 victory in Munich last week, but they were forced to hang on in the closing stages as Bayern recorded a 2-2 draw in the Spanish capital.
The visitors made their intentions clear when they took the lead after only three minutes through Joshua Kimmich, but Madrid were level just eight minutes later as Karim Benzema celebrated his return to the side with a goal.
A monumental mistake from Bayern goalkeeper Sven Ulreich then gifted Benzema a second less than one minute into the second half, and despite Real Madrid loanee James Rodriguez restoring parity once again on the night, Bayern could not find the one more goal they needed to end Madrid’s two-year reign as European champions.
The German giants were left to rue a string of errors and missed chances over the two legs as they were dumped out of the competition by Spanish opposition for the fifth year in a row, while Madrid will now have the chance to become the first team since Bayern themselves in 1976 to win the trophy three years in a row when they face either Liverpool or Roma in the final.
Real Madrid has qualified for the final of 16 occasions, winning it 12 times.
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