madrid end bayern's reign published: thursday 11 april 2002, 0.30cet
real madrid cf 2-0 fc bayern münchen (agg: 3-2) madrid ended bayern's reign.
real madrid cf 2-0 fc bayern münchen (agg: 3-2) real madrid cf will face bitter rivals fc barcelona in the uefa champions league semi-finals after defeating reigning champions fc bayern münchen in a fiercely contested quarter-final second leg.
madrid progress goals from iván helguera and guti in a 2-0 victory on the night ensured madrid progressed to the last four with a 3-2 win overall - and avenged a sequence of six defeats in seven matches against their fellow european heavyweights. and a heavyweight duel it was, some tough tackling and a stream of cautions culiminating in a red card for hasan salihamidzic in the closing seconds.
crowd frustration several bayern players were struck by fruit thrown as the home crowd's frustration grew, but ultimately the mood turned to joy as two second-half goals sent their side through to contest an all-spanish semi-final.
attacking outlook madrid coach vicente del bosque had brought back fernando morientes and luis figo into his starting lineup and the more attacking outlook almost paid immediate dividends. the home side had two tremendous chances in the opening minutes, but their inability to hit the target set a pattern that was to remain until helguera finally broke the deadlock midway through the second period.
early chances just six minutes in santiago solari evaded two bayern defenders to flash a ball across the face of goal, but the normally deadly raúl was unable to make contact with the goal at his mercy. morientes was then guilty of a similar miss, this time failing to latch on to figo's low cross, although he was flagged offside.
madrid on top midway through the first half zidane beat the bayern offside trap with a threaded through-ball which put raúl clear, but his chipped cross-shot towards the far post was deflected off target.
bayern control when bayern gained possession they did their best to slow the pace of the game, which slowly began to turn in their favour towards the interval. on 33 minutes, giovane elber flicked the ball up for salihamidzic to test madrid goalkeeper césar sánchez with a volley.
tireless elber bayern went closer still soon afterwards as roque santa cruz pulled a wicked ball back from the by-line to find the tireless elber unmarked 12 metres out. however as the brazilian shaped to strike, figo, of all figure, stretched out a leg to divert the danger.
restless spanish madrid's restlessness was plain for all to see - misplaced passes and frustrated gestures did little to help the spanish champions break down a stubborn bayern defence. and it was the german side that almost went in a goal to the good at half-time. bixente lizarazu, effenberg and santa cruz combined well, leading to the paraguayan unleashing a 20-metre effort on goal, well saved by césar.
renewed energy madrid began the second period with renewed energy and on 53 minutes zidane was close to breaking the deadlock when he twisted inside the bayern box and struck the woodwork with a curling right-foot effort that had oliver kahn beaten.
tempers fray with the tie on a knife-edge, tempers began to fray and after solari dramatically tumbled in the area in the hope of winning the spanish side a penalty, hierro was booked for following up with a tough challenge on elber.
helguera strikes the breakthrough finally came on 69 minutes. the ball broke to roberto carlos wide on the right and his drilled effort across the face of goal was turned in at the far post by helguera. although the goal brought relief to the home fans, it did nothing to cool the temperature on the pitch. moments later figo was booked for dissent and the portuguese international will now miss the first leg of the semi-final against his former club.
elber chance elber almost silenced the home supporters when he wriggled through three madrid defenders and fired a low shot goalwards with the outside of his right boot, but again the madrid goalkeeper denied the visitors.
guti clincher guti, a second-half substitute, grabbed the 85th-minute goal which sealed the match. raúl muscled past thomas linke and broke for the by-line where he pulled the ball back for guti to rifle it into the roof of the german side's net
fitting end both raúl and elber had late chances to score but the last significant action was a fitting end to an explosive tie. salihamidzic's wild challenge on solari merited the red card it got and summed up a night when the desire to win manifested itself in thunderous fashion.
