Joselu fired Real Madrid to the Champions League final, scoring twice off the bench in the dying moments to hand Los Blancos a stunning 2-1 semi-final second-leg triumph over Bayern Munich.
Alphonso Davies’ curling strike had put Bayern 3-2 up on aggregate and on course for an all-German final against Borussia Dortmund, but Joselu profited from a rare Manuel Neuer mistake to level the tie in the 88th minute.
As the clock ticked into stoppage time, the Espanyol loanee pounced again to turn Antonio Rudiger’s cross home, with wild celebrations ensuing when the goal was awarded following a VAR review for offside.
Read our other football news stories here:
Sky Sports to broadcast 1,000 EFL games on new platform next season
Kylian Mbappe advised to snub Real Madrid and move to Saudi Arabia
Bayer Leverkusen: Alonso using 2022-23 Europa League woe as motivation
Madrid will now have the chance to capture their 15th European crown, and their sixth in the space of 11 years, at Wembley Stadium next month, with Carlo Ancelotti looking to lift the trophy for the fifth time as a coach.
Thomas Tuchel, meanwhile, will leave Bayern trophyless, with Harry Kane also ending his debut season in Bavaria without silverware.
— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) May 8, 2024
Neuer kept the tie level with a brilliant double save after 13 minutes, tipping Vinicius Junior’s strike against his right-hand post before getting up to deny Rodrygo on the rebound.
Kane saw a spectacular volley on the turn touched wide by Andriy Lunin, but the Madrid goalkeeper was then upstaged by Neuer again, the veteran shot-stopper clawing Vinicius’ inswinging cross away from the bottom-right corner.
Madrid turned up the pressure at the start of the second half, with Vinicius causing Joshua Kimmich all sorts of problems. He saw a cutback turned narrowly wide by Rodrygo, then drew a reflex save from Neuer at the end of a mazy run.
However, the Bernabeu was stunned into silence with 68 minutes gone, Davies picking up Kane’s pass before driving inside Rudiger and whipping a right-footed finish into the far corner.
🔥 @AlphonsoDavies pic.twitter.com/ghG6wV5v0i
— FC Bayern Munich (@FCBayernEN) May 8, 2024
Madrid thought they had levelled within three minutes as Federico Valverde’s shot deflected in off Davies, but referee Szymon Marciniak was sent to the pitch-side monitor for a VAR review and disallowed the goal, ruling Nacho had pushed Kimmich in the face inside a crowded penalty area.
Tuchel withdrew Jamal Musiala and Kane to shore up Bayern’s backline late on, but he was left to regret those changes as they let their lead slip in agonising fashion.
Having single-handedly kept Madrid out for much of the contest, Neuer inexplicably spilled Vinicius’ weak shot, and Joselu was on hand to tap home on the rebound.
In the first of nine minutes of stoppage time, Madrid completed yet another famous Champions League turnaround, Joselu bundling Rudiger’s left-wing cross home from inside the six-yard box to leave Bayern crestfallen and book Los Blancos’ ticket to the final on June 1.
The 2023/24 #UCLfinal…
Dortmund 🆚 Real Madrid pic.twitter.com/IdSewiXdIn
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) May 8, 2024
