Real Madrid reached their fourth Champions League final in five years, narrowly seeing off Bayern Munich in an enthralling semifinal.
Leading 2-1 following the first leg in Germany, Real got off to the worst possible start after Joshua Kimmich gave Bayern the lead inside three minutes.
But two goals from Karim Benzema, the second following a horrendous error by goalkeeper Sven Ulreich, turned the tie on its head.
Despite James Rodriguez, on loan at Bayern from Real Madrid, leveling the scores against his parent club, Bayern were unable to find a winning goal — thanks in part to some sensational goalkeeping from Keylor Navas.
Much like they did in the first leg, Bayern Munich started the match in the ascendancy.
Knowing they needed a minimum of two goals to progress, Jupp Heynckes set his side out to press and hassle Real Madrid’s back line.
Having clearly targeted makeshift right-back Lucas Vazquez, who is a forward by trade, as the weak link in Real Madrid’s starting lineup, most of Bayern’s early attacks came from David Alaba and Franck Ribery down the left flank.
With only a minute on the clock, Ribery found Alaba on that exposed left side with barely a Real player in sight, but the Austrian’s low cross was too close to Navas who comfortably gathered.
It was a warning Real Madrid didn’t heed and it wasn’t long before another cross, this time from the right, was their undoing.
Ribery, who at 35 years of age was at times providing flashbacks to his peak, picked the ball up on the left and cut infield, before arrowing a ball into Robert Lewandowski’s feet.
Some fabulous control by the Polish striker allowed him to hold possession and find Thomas Mueller, who had taken up position on the right wing.
His cross, closed down in lackluster fashion by Marcelo, was only partially cleared by an off balance Sergio Ramos and Kimmich pounced to fire past Navas.
The young right back, who also gave Bayern the lead in the first leg, punched the air and ordered his teammates to pick the ball out of the net and take it back to the center circle.
With the Bernabeu subdued and now feeling nervous, Zinedine Zidane rose from the bench, clapping his hands and barking encouragement.
The goal proved to be the catalyst for his players and Ronaldo soon had a good chance to level the scores just minutes later after a clever, quick free-kick caught Bayern off guard.
The Portuguese forward was found at the near post by Karim Benzema but was only able to direct his first-time shot wide of the post.
However, it wouldn’t be long before Real Madrid carved out another opportunity and this time it was taken.
Some neat footwork by Luka Modric in midfield was followed up by a pinpoint diagonal ball to Marcelo’s feet.
The Brazilian fullback, goalscorer in the first leg, put in a cross to the far post where Benzema was waiting unmarked to calmly nod the ball past Ulreich.
From there, Real for the first time began to exert their dominance. But for all their possession, pulling Bayern’s defence this way and that, Real were struggling to carve out any real opportunities.
It was finally Ronaldo, who by his own high standards was having a quiet game, who came to the fore with five minutes of the first half remaining.
After cutting inside both Alaba and Hummels onto his left foot, he fired a shot towards the near post which Ulreich got down smartly to turn around the post.
As half time approached, the momentum in a thrilling semifinal shifted again. Bayern Munich continued to exploit the flanks left exposed by Marcelo and Vazquez’s constant marauding runs.
It was another cross from Kimmich on the right which again caused Real trouble, this time clearly striking Marcelo’s arm inside the area.
Despite furious protests — which continued down the tunnel at half time — from the Bayern players, Cuneyt Cakir waved away the appeals with a stern frown.
With Bayern’s players fired up and feeling aggrieved, the second half was on a knife edge — for all of 20 seconds.
Corentin Tolisso’s simple back pass to Ulreich seemed harmless enough, but the goalkeeper inexplicably allowed the ball to pass underneath his leg and allowed Benzema to tap into an empty net.
If the German side were to exit the competition, Rafinha’s costly error in the first leg and Ulreich’s tonight would undoubtedly be their undoing.
Though scoring the two goals now necessary to progress didn’t feel completely beyond Bayern, you sensed the final in Kiev was within touching distance for Real.
Ronaldo soon had a chance to put the tie to bed after being found unmarked at the far by a Marcelo cross.
Usually so ruthless in front of goal, the 33-year-old blazed his volley from five yards high over the crossbar.
Minutes later that uncharacteristic miss began to look costly, as James levelled the scores on the night.
The Colombian met a cross from Niklas Süle, who had been a rock in defence all night, but saw his initial effort saved, before following up the rebound and slotting the ball under Navas.
Despite dominating with 69% possession and creating 15 chances, Bayern were unable to find that crucial third goal which would have sent them to Kiev.
Benzema will rightly take the plaudits for his two goals, but Navas — who came in for criticism after the first leg — will certainly be the toast of Madrid after numerous spectacular saves.
Real must now wait until tomorrow’s second semi-final, between Roma and Liverpool, to find out who they will face in the final on May 26.
