Champions ousted in Munich

Bayern Munich 2 Real Madrid 1

Bayern Munich 2 Real Madrid 1

Bayern win 3-1 on aggregate

Three-time European Cup winners Bayern Munich dethroned Champions League holders Real Madrid in Munich tonight beating them 2-1 in their second leg semi-final meeting and 3-1 on aggregate.

Bayern Munich, who lost to Real at this stage last season, will meet last year's beaten finalists Valencia in the final in Milan on May 23.

READ MORE

Goals from Brazilian Giovane Elber, his sixth of the campaign, and Jens Jeremies, who like Elber underwent knee surgery only three weeks ago, secured their win with Real scoring through Portuguese international Luis Figo.

Bayern, who in the previous round avenged their heartbreaking 1999 final defeat by Manchester United, extended their remarkable home record in European Cup/Champions League competition to just three defeats in 75 matches and left Real without even a draw at their ground in six visits.

The champions had looked down and out after eight minutes when Elber nodded the ball home after Real failed to clear the ball from Mehmet Scholl's corner with Iker Casillas again failing to impose himself in his box.

Elber had had a great opportunity two minutes earlier to open the score as he latched on to a great ball by Bayern's English Under-21 international Owen Hargreaves, who had come in for the suspended Steffen Effenberg, raced clear of the ponderous Real defence but his shot was well gathered by Casillas.

Figo put Real back into the match in the 18th minute when he finished off the best move of the match.

Brazilian rightback Roberto Carlos launched a superb longball from his own half which was beautifully controlled by Raul, who slid it inside and the Portuguese international showed his class to sidefoot it past Oliver Kahn from just inside the box.

Jeremies, who was being booed by the Munich fans earlier in the season, struck from a well worked freekick in the 34th minute as Mehmet Scholl passed the ball to him outside the area and his right-footed shot evaded Casillas, who went down far too late to save it.

Scholl was fortunate not to be booked let alone sent off when he elbowed Ivan Helguera in the face while tussling for the ball, however with UEFA able to hand out punishment from video evidence he could face some anxious days leading up to it.

Scholl, who had been in doubt for the match with an ankle injury, made himself even more unpopular with the Real players when he collapsed theatrically on the ground when in full flow despite Fernando Hierro not having touched him.

Danish referee Kim Milton Nielsen, who sent off David Beckham in the 1998 World Cup finals second round match against Argentina, was not fooled and did not book Hierro.

Scholl's eventful evening ended early in the second-half when he was replaced by Brazilian striker Roque Santa Cruz and the German international left the pitch shaking his head. -AFP