FEATURE | Three things we learned as Bayern Munich beat Real Madrid to progress to the UEFA Champions League semi-final  | OneFootball

Bayern Munich secured their UEFA Champions League semi-final place after an all-time classic against 15-time winners Real Madrid.

Here are three things we learnt.

Bayern’s defence could be exposed by PSG

On a night where Bayern faced one of the world’s most potent attacks, their defence was exposed in a way that it hadn’t been before. The front three of Los Blancos toyed with the Bayern backline for large parts of the game and could have come away with more than the three goals they scored.

Both Konrad Laimer and Josip Stanišić continued as they have all season, playing slightly further forward than the average full back and offering support to the midfield and forward lines. In doing so, they left spaces wide open for the likes of Arda Güler and Vinícius Júnior to exploit, resulting in a goal for their opponents on more than one occasion in this tie. Vincent Kompany will need to be more astute in his tactical setup when facing the holders of the competition in the semi-finals.

Luis Enrique’s PSG boast 2025 Ballon D’Or winner Ousmane Dembélé, Désiré Doué, as well as Georgian sensation Khvicha Kvaratskhelia – all of whom have shown their quality on multiple occasions over the last few seasons. This was evident earlier in the campaign when they put seven goals past a naïve Bayer Leverkusen side, and even more so when the Parisiens put five past Inter Milan in last season’s final.

Michael Olise is Bayern’s trump card

Whilst many of the headlines after this tie will focus on others, Michael Olise once again shone with an outstanding display, capping it off by sealing Bayern’s spot in the final four with the last kick of the game.

After giving Spanish full-back Álvaro Carreras nightmares in the first leg in Madrid, the Frenchman did the same to the vastly more experienced Ferland Mendy in Bavaria. Mendy could not cope with Olise’s speed and trickery, exemplified in the 93rd minute when the former Crystal Palace man picked up the ball on the right wing, chopped inside with ease and, without breaking stride, curled it into the inside of the far post.

Sitting top of the Bundesliga assist charts (18) and 5th in the scoring charts (12), Olise has been outstanding all season long, and has now staked his claim as one of the world’s best wingers.

Bayern’s resilience

Though the first leg in Madrid seemed remarkably comfortable at times, Vincent Kompany’s men found themselves in far less favourable positions throughout the second leg. With the scores levelled on aggregate after an uncharacteristic Manuel Neuer mistake not even a minute into the game, heads could have dropped. Instead, the Bavarians responded almost immediately, with Aleksander Pavlović restoring parity just five minutes later.

Despite another setback after half an hour when Neuer perhaps should have stopped an Arda Güler free kick, Harry Kane ensured Bayern responded swiftly once again, equalising just eight minutes later.

Yet another punch to the gut arrived before half time, with Kylian Mbappe restoring the visitors lead on the night. Real Madrid continued their counterattacking theme in the second half and despite Bayern dominating for large parts, it looked like the tie would be heading for extra time.

However, minutes before the full-time whistle, Kompany’s men kept their composure when others couldn’t. After Eduardo Camavinga received his marching orders, Bayern sensed their opportunity and killed off the tie.

GGFN | Harry Good