Madrid coach’s caution was costly
Mourinho’s tactical shift gave Bayern Munich a lift
MADRID – However much he might blame rotten luck or fatigue for Real Madrid’s failure to get past Bayern Munich on Wednesday, it was Jose Mourinho’s caution that possibly cost the Spaniards a place in next month’s Champions League final.
They were eliminated in the semifinals for a second straight season as they failed to hold on to a 2-0 lead on the night, curbed their attacking instincts more and more as the game wore on and were ultimately undone by the brilliance of Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer in a nervy penalty shootout.
“The match went through many different phases after our second goal. We can’t attack all the time,” Sergio Ramos, who blasted his penalty over the bar, told reporters.
Everything went to plan in the opening 15 minutes, with Real racing ahead in the semifinal second leg at their Bernabeu stadium – where they had netted 22 goals in five previous Champions League outings this season – thanks to a double from Cristiano Ronaldo.
However, after Bayern pulled a goal back through Arjen Robben’s penalty in the 27th minute to make it 3-3 on aggregate, Real seemed to take its foot off the gas and the Germans began to control possession in a manner rarely witnessed at the giant arena.
Bastian Schweinsteiger, another hero of the night after netting the penalty that sent Bayern through, expertly marshalled the midfield and was ably supported by Luiz Gustavo and Toni Kroos.
Real’s defensive midfield pair of Xabi Alonso and Sami Khedira huffed and puffed, but were unable to exert the control that would have allowed them to get the ball forward more often to Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Angel Di Maria.
Mourinho threw on playmaker Kaka for Di Maria with 15 minutes of regulation time left, but his next change midway through extra time was to take off Mesut Ozil, who created Ronaldo’s second and has the most assists of any Real man this term, and replace him with defensive midfielder Esteban Granero.
Striker Gonzalo Higuain had been deployed a few minutes earlier in a straight swap for Benzema but, by then, there was a sense the ship had sailed and Real had missed a chance to take the game by the throat.