Ah! Well, nevertheless... Real Madrid wriggles out of Champions League jam vs. Bayern

How does Real Madrid keep doing it?

Once again, the Spanish giants conjured up a Champions League miracle, with two extremely late goals from 34-year-old loanee Joselu allowing los Merengues to secure a 2-1 second-leg win over Bayern Munich in the Champions League semifinals.

Manager Carlo Ancelotti has been lauded as a Champions League specialist, and Real Madrid has a long list of late shows in recent editions of the tournament. In the last two years, Liverpool, Paris Saint-Germain, and Chelsea have all thought they knocked off the 14-time champions of the tournament, only to concede late goals that turned the tide.

Few will stack up in comparison to this one, though, as Alphonso Davies’ spectacular goal in the 68th minute left the hosts needing to score to force extra time. Real had one goal called back for a clear foul on Nacho, and for a moment it felt like that would be that.

Instead, los Merengues escaped from trouble like they always seem to do. First, Manuel Neuer — having played superbly for 87 minutes — spilled Vinícius Jr.’s shot from outside the box, allowing Joselu to nip in and stab home an equalizer.

Still, Bayern was still in it…until they weren’t. As stoppage time began, chaos in the visitors’ box ended with one center back (Nacho) finding the other (Antonio Rüdiger) to settle things down. Rüdiger fired a low cross for Joselu to tap in, only for the offside flag to immediately come up.

Offside? After a VAR check, referee Szymon Marciniak gave his decision: the goal would stand, as Joselu was shown to be, by a matter of maybe a couple of inches, behind the ball as Rüdiger served it up.

Somehow, that wasn’t the end of the drama, with Matthijs de Ligt’s goal in the 13th minute of stoppage time chalked off despite being an enormously close call.

All in all, it was another Indiana Jones-style escape for Real Madrid, who will face Borussia Dortmund in June 1’s Champions League final at Wembley.