MADRID: Real Madrid scrapped their way into a third consecutive Champions League final on Tuesday and coach Zinedine Zidane said he would not have wanted it any other way.
After their last-gasp win over Juventus in the quarter-finals, Real were left hanging on against Bayern Munich at the Santiago Bernabeu as Karim Benzema’s double secured a 2-2 draw and 4-3 win on aggregate.
When Joshua Kimmich gave Bayern an early lead and James Rodriguez levelled with 27 minutes remaining, Real looked in danger of surrendering their 2-1 advantage from the first leg.
By the end, Real’s fans were begging for the full-time whistle and if it is to be Liverpool in the final in Kiev, Jurgen Klopp’s men will take heart.
Zidane, however, insists the grit his team have shown to overcome Paris Saint-Germain, Juve, and now Bayern, should not be underestimated.
“In football, you have to suffer,” Zidane said. “You cannot be in the final without suffering, it’s even better, more beautiful when you win like that.
“Madrid never gives up. It is the same in adversity, we believe in what we do and we get things done by believing in ourselves and fighting.”
Real, and Zidane, are now on the brink of a third consecutive Champions League triumph, and 13th overall in Europe’s premier tournament.
Whether it be Liverpool or Roma they face in Kiev, Los Blancos will be strong favorites to lift the title.
“We are only in the final,” Zidane said. “You can be happy, you have to be, it is not normal to be in the final for the third consecutive time.
“But now that we are, what we have to do is try to win. We will fight to defend our title.”
Benzema’s two goals were also credit to Zidane, who had picked the striker despite a poor run of form that had included only one goal in 12 games.
“He never gave up and I’m happy for him,” Zidane said. “I defended Karim as I defend all my players, I defend them until the end.”
Bayern, meanwhile, are left wondering what might have been after dominating large spells of the two legs but paying a heavy price for individual mistakes.
Benzema’s second, which proved decisive, was a gift, with goalkeeper Sven Ulreich making a mess of Corentin Tolisso’s under-hit back pass and allowing the Frenchman to slot into an open net.
“If you look at both games it is quite apparent we were the best team,” Bayern coach Jupp Heynckes said.
“I’m very disappointed in the result. We dominated, I believe, and they should thank Keylor Navas for his performance in goal, he was spectacular, particularly toward the end of the match.”
On Ulreich’s error, Heynckes added: “He had a little blackout, he got confused, he didn’t realize he couldn’t pick it up with his hands.
“It’s terrible for a player to live through such a moment, but nevertheless we did have a lot of opportunities, and all in all our ‘keeper performed well.”
‘You have to suffer’ — Zinedine Zidane hails gritty Real Madrid win
‘You have to suffer’ — Zinedine Zidane hails gritty Real Madrid win
- Benzema’s double secures a 2-2 draw and 4-3 win on aggregate
- Zidane: 'You cannot be in the final without suffering'
Marmoush, Salah strike as Egypt edge out holders Ivory Coast in quarter-final
- Egypt wasted little time in taking the lead as Marmoush scored in the fourth minute
- That set up a siege of the Egyptian goal in the final 15 minutes but they held out to advance
AGADIR, Morocco: Omar Marmoush netted the opener and Mohamed Salah scored the decisive goal as Egypt ended Ivory Coast’s reign with a narrow 3-2 triumph in Saturday’s Africa Cup of Nations quarter-final.
Center back Rami Rabia was the other scorer for the Egyptians, who had little possession at the Grande Stade Agadir but took their chances with clinical precision and held on grimly to book a semifinal meeting with Senegal on Wednesday.
An own goal from Ahmed Fatouh and a late effort by Guela Doue proved insufficient for the Ivory Coast, winners of the tournament on home soil two years ago but now deposed as African champions.
Egypt, who have won a record seven Cup of Nations titles, wasted little time in taking the lead as Marmoush scored in the fourth minute after Hamdi Fathy pinched the ball from Franck Kessie in the midfield, allowing Emam Ashour to thread a pinpoint ball to the sprinting Marmoush. He still needed to shrug off the attentions of defender Odilon Kossounou before slotting home.
But it quickly became clear the Ivorians were going to dominate possession, showing much more physical strength on the ball but without setting up clear chances.
Egypt went 2-0 up in the 32nd minute when Rabia rose above the defenders to head his side further ahead from a corner.
The Ivory Coast, who had 70 percent of possession in the first half, reduced the deficit eight minutes later when teenager Yann Diomande’s freekick near the corner took a slight brush off Kossounou’s head and ricocheted off the knee of full back Fatouh and into the net.
SALAH FINISHED OFF CLEVER MOVE
The Ivorians had come from 2-0 down to beat Gabon 3-2 earlier in the tournament but hopes of turning the scoreline around soon after the re-start were stymied by a simply created, but superbly finished, goal for Salah seven minutes after the break.
Rabia was well inside his own half when he chipped the ball over the top of the Ivorian defensive line, allowing Ashour to run onto it and hit an accurate pass with the outside of his right boot into the path of Salah to score.
An Ivorian comeback was still on when Doue touched home at the end of a goalmouth scramble in the 73rd minute.
That set up a siege of the Egyptian goal in the final 15 minutes but they held out to advance.
Earlier on Saturday, Nigeria overpowered Algeria 2-0 in Marrakech and will take on hosts Morocco in the other semifinal.
