Real Madrid secured a late equalizer and an added time-winning goal from José Luis Mato Sanmartín, known as Joselu, to send the Los Blancos into their 18th UEFA Champions League final, where they will face Borussia Dortmund on June 1, 2024, at Wembley in London, England.
Alphonso Davies gave Bayern the lead in the 68th minute, and all seemed to be going well until Joselu netted an equalizer just two minutes into stoppage time, and three minutes later Joselu came to the Los Blancos rescue again with the winning goal that crashed the Bavarians hope of any silverware this season after crashing out 4-3 on aggregate after drawing 2-2 at Alianz Arena in Munich in the first leg.
After the game, many players and fans were full of joy, and some couldn’t hide their happiness. Joselu, the man of the match and Real Madrid goal scorer, said that it seemed like a dream, and he couldn’t believe it himself.
“You dream of nights like this, of course, but it’s about being ready. For the first goal, Bayern were just a little worn out. They were in a low-block defence, and you take note because that conditions the movement you can make,” Joselu said.
“For the second goal, it was unbelievable; it was like a dream, but not even my best dreams are as good as this,” Joselu added.
Real Madrid, who have now qualified for the 18th time for Europe’s biggest final and are currently the most successful team in Europe, are seeking their 15th trophy when they play Dortmund, who have just one Champions League trophy from 1997 and have only appeared once in the final in 2013, when they lost to Bayern Munich.
In recent times, Real Madrid has played Borussia Dortmund 13 times, with the Los Blancos winning six times, drawing four times, and Dortmund, also known as die Schwarzgelben (black and yellow), having won only three times.
The UEFA Champions League is the biggest club competition in Europe, and the winner walks away with USD 21.4 million, equivalent to 20 million euros. The second runner-up bags 15.5 million euros.
