Bayern score in final minutes to eliminate Real Madrid, advance 6-4 on aggregate

Bayern Munich scored twice in the final minutes to knock Real Madrid out of the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday, winning a 4-3 second leg at the Allianz Arena and advancing 6-4 on aggregate to reach the semifinals.

Luis Díaz struck in the 89th minute and Michael Olise added the winner in stoppage time after Real midfielder Eduardo Camavinga was sent off, capping a chaotic quarterfinal that had been level at 4-4 on aggregate at halftime. Harry Kane’s first-half goal was his 50th of the season for Bayern and underlined a record-setting campaign as Vincent Kompany’s side booked a last-four meeting with defending champions Paris Saint-Germain.

The second leg began at a sprint. Arda Güler, the 21-year-old Real Madrid midfielder, put the visitors ahead after just one minute. Bayern responded almost immediately, with Aleksandar Pavlović equalizing in the sixth minute in what UEFA later noted was the first time both teams had scored inside six minutes of a Champions League knockout match.

Real went back in front in the 29th minute when Güler struck again, completing his brace and tilting the night back toward the 15-time European champions. Bayern’s response came through Kane, who made it 2-2 in the 38th minute. The England captain’s finish was his 12th goal in this season’s Champions League, which UEFA records as the highest tally by an English player in a single campaign.

Kylian Mbappé, Real’s star forward, restored Madrid’s lead before the break, making it 3-2 in the 42nd minute. That goal pushed Mbappé to 15 Champions League goals this season, a total UEFA has compared to Cristiano Ronaldo’s most prolific years in the competition. At halftime, Real led on the night but the tie was level 4-4 on aggregate, after Bayern’s 2-1 win in the first leg in Madrid on April 7.

The second half brought more control and fewer chances than the frantic opening period, with Bayern pushing for the goal that would tilt the tie back in their favor and Real looking to protect their position and counter. The match’s decisive moment came in the 86th minute when Camavinga received a second yellow card and was sent off, leaving Madrid with 10 men. Match reports highlighted the dismissal as a key turning point.

Bayern quickly exploited the numerical advantage. Díaz, introduced from the bench, made it 3-3 on the night in the 89th minute, putting Bayern 5-4 ahead on aggregate. Deep into stoppage time, Olise, the France international winger, scored Bayern’s fourth. His 90th-plus-4-minute strike sealed the 4-3 win and a 6-4 aggregate victory. UEFA named Olise the PlayStation Player of the Match.

After the final whistle, Güler was shown a red card, adding to Real’s disciplinary frustration on a night when they had led three times but failed to advance. Attendance at the Allianz Arena was listed by ESPN at 75,000, after 77,106 watched the first leg at the Santiago Bernabéu.

“It was a very emotional game,” Kompany said, speaking to UEFA.com. “We had lots of possession and always had the feeling we could score. But Real Madrid are Real Madrid. They are always a threat. The boys were mentally strong to recover from setbacks. The fans helped us as well. We stayed calm and always felt that our moment would come. The next game is the biggest. We keep going.”

Olise described the contest as exactly the kind of end-to-end tie Bayern had anticipated. “It was a good, back-and-forth match. We knew they would try to come back. At first it was a bit like ‘goal, goal, goal,’” he told UEFA.com. “When it eventually calmed down, we played a bit better in the second half and took our chances. We showed good resilience to keep coming back. I tried [that technique for the goal] five or six times before and I was getting closer each time. It was nice to score.”

Kane, whose 50 goals in all competitions have driven Bayern’s season, underlined the scale of knocking out Madrid. “We knew it was going to be difficult with Real Madrid in the Champions League,” he said. “They have this special connection and you need to be at the highest level to beat them and knock them out.”

Real head coach Álvaro Arbeloa, appointed in January after the club replaced Xabi Alonso, praised his players’ effort despite the exit. “That was a great match. We scored three and had the chances to score more. I feel for [the players], for the effort they made,” he told UEFA.com. “It hurts because Real Madrid won’t win their 16th title this year. I’m very proud. We’re going back to Madrid after giving it our all. We had a few chances to score.”

Bayern’s progression continues a season in which they remain in contention for a treble of the Bundesliga, German Cup and Champions League titles. The victory followed their 2-1 win in the first leg at the Bernabéu, the club’s first there in 25 years, and reinforces their status among Europe’s elite.

For Real Madrid, the defeat extends a pattern of quarterfinal eliminations. They also went out at this stage in the 2024-25 season, to Arsenal, prompting questions in Spanish media about their recent European trajectory despite a star-studded squad and midseason coaching change.

The tie also marked another milestone for Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, who made his 25th Champions League quarterfinal appearance, equaling teammate Thomas Müller’s competition record.

Bayern will now face reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain in the semifinals, with the first leg in Paris on April 28 and the return in Munich on May 6, according to UEFA. The winner will advance to the final, with Bayern seeking to turn a dramatic quarterfinal comeback into another European title and a possible treble.