Real Madrid 5-0 Bayern Munich in Pursuit of 10th European Cup: Cristiano Ronaldo Gets Header and Freekick, Xabi Alonso Out for Final on Booking
Simply brilliant is the best -- perhaps only -- way to describe the performance by Madrid, while Bayern, the hosting team nonetheless, did the exact opposite. Bayern seemed passive, sluggish, and inactive defensively. This was entirely not what the fans expected from the defending champions of the UEFA Champions League. Real Madrid is now one step closer to a 10th European Cup after defeating Bayern Munich 4-0 (aggregate 5-0) at the Allianz Arena on a night where records were broken.
After holding a 1-0 lead from their earlier match, Sergio Ramos and Cristiano Ronaldo scored two goals each. Ronaldo made his record for goals at 16 on the season while Real Madrid tallied a total of 37 in this season's Champion's League, setting another record. The only downside of this match was a booking for Xabi Alonso, ruling out the midfielder from participating in the final.
Ramos scored the first goal on the 16th minute mark with a superb header coming from the corner, followed by a second at 20 minutes.
Ronaldo then scored the next goal at the 34th minute mark after a magnificent counter-attack set by the team. Di Maria fed the ball to Benzema while Bale sped in, flipping the ball over to Ronaldo who finally shot it under Neuer from the edge. It was his 15th goal in the league this season. Ronaldo then scored another incredible set-piece header only 3 minutes after his first one.
Finally, heading towards the closing minutes of the match, Ronaldo swipes a low 22-yard freekick speeding below the Bayern wall who all jumped, thereby allowing the ball to pass through and into the net past the confused Neuer -- quite momentous for the Portuguese star and adding yet another goal to his new record. Ronaldo was visibly amused by his success that game.
A minute of silence was observed before the game proceeded to honor former Barcelona coach Tito Vilanova and former Real Coach Vijadin Boskov, who both passed away last week.