Goal does not count

Real celebrate, but VAR exposes impetuous Nacho

The decisive scene: Nacho pushes Kimmich to the ground. It doesn't get much more obvious than that.

(Bild: Twitter.com)

Huge celebrations at the "Santiago Bernabeu" - until the VAR recognized that Nacho was, shall we say, clumsy. Real Madrid's goal to supposedly make it 1:1 in the meantime did not count.

The 71st minute of the game, corner for Real. The ball comes flat into the penalty area and is bent towards the middle. There, Bayern defensive man Matthijs de Ligt unfortunately deflects it into his own goal - the equalizer for Real just moments after Bayern's remarkable opening goal to make it 1-0 through Alphonso Davies. At least that's what most people thought. Because the VAR actually intervened. And he exposed a rather mediocre and intelligent move by Real's Nacho. During a corner clearance, he grabbed the defending Joshua Kimmich with both hands in the face and pushed him to the ground. There is probably not a much more obvious foul. It remains to be seen whether Kimmich was really as dazed as he suggested with his "stay down". But Nacho's action was certainly unnecessary when he first passed the ball to De Ligt.

Dream goal to make it 1:0
Bayern's opening goal just two minutes earlier had been far more spectacular - a picture-book counter-attack: Dream pass from Harry Kane including a shift of play, dream finish from Alphonso Davies with a flick into the far corner - and the dream goal was done.

(Bild: AP)

And Davies' leap in celebration also deserved top marks. Little did Davies know that the drama for Bayern would take its course in the 89th minute ...