Real Madrid vs Bayern Munich: Benzema's brace takes Los Blancos to their third consecutive UCL final

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Madrid, May 2: Karim Benzema struck twice in the second-leg of the semi-finals and took Real Madrid to their third consecutive Uefa Champions League final as Los Blancos defeated German giants Bayern Munich by 4-3 (aggregate) on Tuesday (May 2).

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Real Madrid entered into the game at their home on a positive as they had already won 2-1 in the first leg in Germany. The Spanish giants and defending champions had 2 valuable away goals in their pocket and Bayern faced an uphill task of coming to the Bernabeu and turn the tie in their favour.

The Bavarians took an early lead in the away game in the 3rd minute itself as Joshua Kimmich pounced on a loose ball inside the box after Madrid failed to clear a cross. But their happiness was short-lived as Benzema hit the equaliser in the 10th minute itself to extend the lead for the home side to 3-2. Both the teams made desperate attempts in the first half to take a lead but couldn't get much success till the half-time.

Capitalising over blunder from Bayern goalkeeper Sven Ulreich, Benzema struck his second goal of the evening within minutes of the start of the second-half and extended Madrid's overall lead to 4-2. Ulreich presented Benzema with an opportunity to make the aggregate score 4-2 and the Frenchman obliged.

The visitors now needed 2 more goals to beat Zinedine Zidane's side and they got one when James Rodriguez scored in the 63rd minute to give another twist in the high-octane game. But Madrid's defender denied the Bavarians' any further success and by the time final whistle was blown, Los Blancos had reached their fourth UCL final in five years.

The holders, thus, progressed 4-3 on aggregate against Bayern after the game ended in a 2-2 draw at the Santiago Bernabeu. Real Madrid, thus, became the first club in history to reach three straight European Cup finals for the second time.

Star striker Cristiano Ronaldo and manager Zidane continued to make Champions League history as Madrid booked their place in yet another final.

Zidane will become the third coach to lead a team to three consecutive finals when he takes Madrid to Kiev on May 26, following in the footsteps of Italians Marcello Lippi and Fabio Capello.

Ronaldo made his 152nd Champions League appearance in the second leg, moving past Barcelona icon Xavi to become the most-capped outfielder in the competition's history.

And assuming the Portugal superstar is selected by Zidane, he will make his sixth appearance in a Champions League final, drawing level with the great Paolo Maldini.

Under Zidane, meanwhile, Madrid have never been knocked out in the Champions League - Los Blancos progressing in all nine of their two-legged Champions League ties, on top of winning both finals with the Frenchman in charge.

(With Opta inputs)