Pep Guardiola squandered his “final bullet” as Bayern Munich were shot down by Atletico Madrid’s men with golden guns.
Antoine Griezmann scored his 31st goal of a remarkable season to take Atletico through to their second Champions League final in three years on away goals, but it was the man supplying the team’s ammunition who deserved the credit for masterminding another sensational achievement.
With his dark suit and air of menace, Diego Simeone could pass for a James Bond villain and European domination is now within his grasp. Only an extra-time defeat by Real Madrid prevented a Atletico from winning a domestic and Champions League and La Liga double two years ago and their neighbours would not relish a reunion in Milan this month if they beat Manchester City this evening. “Life is not about revenge, but about new opportunities, and this is a new opportunity,” Simeone said.
This extraordinary match in which Thomas Müller and Fernando Torres missed penalties was worthy of a final, although that will provide no consolation for Guardiola, who will leave Munich after three years having failed to get past the last four in the only competition that matters to his employers.
After defeat in the first leg Guardiola insisted: “I am not dead. After this match, everybody ‘killed’ me. But I am still here. I have one more bullet left.”
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But he is now shot. The celebrations if Bayern clinch Guardiola’s third Bundesliga title at Ingolstadt on Saturday are likely to be muted and sadness permeated his valedictory address last night. “I’ve done my best,” he said. “I’ve given my life to this club from the first minute to the last minute.”
Bayern scarcely deserved to be eliminated after winning on a night when they mustered 37 attempts on goal, but neither did Atletico, whose resolution throughout an agonising five minutes of stoppage time was incredible to behold. Simeone has added quality to his tenacious side of 2014, all with the same budget as Newcastle United, and euro for euro deserves to be acknowledged as the best manager in the world.
Bayern had enjoyed 70 per cent of possession and had 17 shots in the first half, but only had Xabi Alonso’s deflected free kick to show for it after Jan Oblak saved Müller’s penalty.
Simeone’s half-time response was to switch to 4-5-1 despite his side trailing, and this seemingly counter-intuitive tactic worked as Atletico scored in the 54th minute. The outstanding Griezmann began and finished the move himself, going from operating as an auxiliary right back to demonstrating his prowess as one of Europe’s most lethal marksmen. The 25-year-old appeared to have all the time in the world after being put through by Torres and used it to perfection, running straight at the centre of the goal before lofting the ball over Manuel Neuer for the crucial goal.
“I’ve given my life to this club from the first minute to the last minute
Franck Ribéry went close to restoring Bayern’s lead before Robert Lewandowski did so with a close-range header in the 74th minute, which set up the final siege. Torres seemed to have found a way out when he was awarded a fortuitous penalty, but it was saved by Neuer, and it was left to his Atletico team-mates to spare his blushes.
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Guardiola’s players failed to provide such salvation for their manager who, harsh as it may seem, will leave Munich for Manchester City as something of a letdown.