Tag: Bayern Munich

Even Toni Kroos admits Bayern Munich got screwed at Real Madrid

The Madrid star said Bayern had a legitimate gripe over a late disallowed goal

Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos has criticized referees for a vital decision that went in his side’s favor during last week’s Champions League semifinal against Bayern Munich.

After a stunning Madrid comeback, Bayern defender Matthijs de Ligt appeared to have equalized the second leg at 2-2 when he scored deep into stoppage time.

But the assistant referee raised his flag for offside and head official Szymon Marciniak blew his whistle before the ball went in. Because play was stopped prior to the goal, there was no chance for a VAR review.

Real Madrid went on to win the match 2-1, advancing to the Champions League final against Borussia Dortmund via a 4-3 aggregate score.

Bayern players and coach Thomas Tuchel fumed after the match, correctly pointing out that the referees’ action was against protocol that instructs officials to let a sequence play out if there is a borderline offside call.

On the podcast he hosts with his brother Felix, even Kroos admitted that Bayern had a legitimate gripe.

“It’s bad handling. You have to let play continue,” the Germany international said. “I think the mistake is primarily the linesman’s.”

“If he raises the flag now, the referee assumes that his linesman sees it exactly that way and trusts him that it was probably three meters offside,” Kroos added. “The anger is justified because you just have to play the situation to the end, 100%.”

Kroos also said that he was unsure if De Ligt would have actually scored if there were no whistle, because Madrid’s players switched off as soon as they heard it.

“I don’t know if there was a collective switching off because you could hear the whistle very early,” Kroos said. “You could tell the tension dropped among everyone who wanted to defend this goal.”

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Tuchel rages after late Bayern goal disallowed in Champions League: ‘It’s the wrong call’

Tuchel slated the referees over waving off De Ligt’s seeming equalizer

Bayern Munich was left flabbergasted by a late call in its Champions League semifinal defeat at the hands of Real Madrid.

Over 13 minutes into second-half stoppage time in a dramatic second leg, Matthijs de Ligt appeared to have scored a staggering equalizer.

However, referee Szymon Marciniak chalked the goal off, drawing intense disagreement from Bayern manager Thomas Tuchel.

“To raise the flag in a situation like this, where you can never, never, never be sure that this is offside, to raise — to have the balls, to have the guts, to raise the flag in a situation like this — is a huge call, and it’s the wrong call,” seethed Tuchel in a post-match press conference.

“The referee has the chance, when he sees that we win the second ball and we win the rebound and we get a shot away within five seconds, he has the chance not to whistle. He takes the decision to whistle, it’s against every rule.”

Tuchel: Call ‘would not have happened’ to Real Madrid

A long ball forward put Real under pressure, and a knockdown header from Thomas Müller set De Ligt up to fire home, seemingly equalizing the scores at 4-4 and setting up extra time.

However, in a game that had already seen a stunning comeback for los Merengues, the last turn of the tale was the wildest: assistant referee Tomasz Listkiewicz lifted his flag to signal offside rather than following the current IFAB directive to let the sequence play out, and Marciniak blew his whistle in agreement.

By rule, Marciniak’s whistle coming so early prevented any VAR check, meaning any chance for Bayern’s goal to be given — much in the same way that Real’s winning goal from Joselu was — was dashed in an instant.

Joselu’s stoppage-time winner came on a sequence that was initially called back for offside, but in that sequence Marciniak held his whistle until the ball crossed the line. As such, VAR could check the call, eventually overturning the initial decision and awarding Real what turned out to be an utterly crucial goal.

For Tuchel, the call went beyond a mistake, with the German coach intimating that Madrid got special treatment.

“I’m sorry. We accept we lost. It is what it is, but just…that [call] would not have happened on the other side.”

Nonetheless, Real will go on to June 1’s Champions League final at Wembley, with Borussia Dortmund the opponent.

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‘Pray for RS’ – Rodrygo reveals shirt with message for Brazil flood victims

The Madrid star showed support for his home country amid devastating flooding

After narrowly missing a first-half chance against Bayern Munich on Wednesday, Real Madrid forward Rodrygo lifted up his jersey in frustration.

Underneath, there was another shirt with a message: “Pray for RS”

The shirt was meant to be revealed in a goal celebration, but the Brazil international nonetheless showed his support for his home country amid devastating floods.

Heavy rains have caused widespread flooding in the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, with officials saying that at least 100 people have been killed so far. A further 128 people are missing, per authorities.

More storms are expected on Wednesday, with more than 230,000 people already displaced by the floods.

Madrid staged a dramatic late comeback to win the second leg 2-1, advancing to the Champions League final by a 4-3 aggregate scoreline.

Watch Rodrygo reveal ‘Pray for RS’ shirt

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Real Madrid vs. Bayern Munich: How to watch Champions League, TV channel, live stream

The European powers clash in Madrid with a spot in the final on the line

Real Madrid will host Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League semifinal second leg on Wednesday, with a spot in the final on the line.

The match is perfectly poised after the two sides played out a 2-2 draw in the first leg in Munich last week.

Bayern looked set to take a lead back to the Spanish capital as it led 2-1 thanks to goals from Harry Kane and Leroy Sané. But Vinícius Jr. completed his brace with a late penalty to send Madrid back home level.

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Madrid is coming off a weekend in which it clinched the La Liga title, with Carlo Ancelotti resting some key players in a 3-0 win over Cádiz. Bayern, meanwhile, defeated Union Berlin 5-1, maintaining a two-point lead over Stuttgart in the race for second place in the Bundesliga.

The winner of this tie will advance to the final, where they’ll face Borussia Dortmund at Wembley Stadium on June 1.

Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the match.

Real Madrid vs. Bayern Munich (Champions League)

  • When: Wednesday, May 8
  • Where: Santiago Bernabéu Stadium (Madrid)
  • Time: 3 p.m. ET
  • Channel/streaming: CBS, Univision, TUDN, ViX, Paramount+ (WATCH NOW)

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Bayern Munich vs. Real Madrid: How to watch Champions League, TV channel, live stream

The German giants will look to salvage a disappointing season in Europe’s biggest competition

Bayern Munich will look to salvage a disappointing season when it takes on Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League semifinal.

The Bavarians will host the first leg on Tuesday, aiming to take an advantage heading back to the Spanish capital ahead of next Wednesday’s second leg.

Bayern has already lost its Bundesliga crown to Bayer Leverkusen, and was stunned in the German cup against third-tier Saarbrücken. Failure to win the Champions League, then, would mean the rarest of events: a trophy-less season in Munich.

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Bayern will have a number of key players either missing through injury or facing a late fitness test, which won’t make things easy against the Spanish giants.

Madrid is cruising toward a La Liga title, and is aiming to complete a double by taking back the Champions League title that Manchester City clinched last season.

The winner of this tie will advance to the final, where they’ll face the winner of the other semifinal between Borussia Dortmund and PSG.

Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the match.

Bayern Munich vs. Real Madrid (Champions League)

  • When: Tuesday, April 30
  • Where: Allianz Arena (Munich)
  • Time: 3 p.m. ET
  • Channel/streaming: CBS, Univision, TUDN, ViX, Paramount+ (WATCH NOW)

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We occasionally recommend interesting products and services. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. Pro Soccer Wire operates independently, though, and this doesn’t influence our coverage.

Palhinha flies to Munich, has medical, watches Bayern move disintegrate

Palhinha has become the transfer deadline day’s tragic figure

João Palhinha has become the transfer deadline day’s tragic figure, as his move from Fulham to Bayern Munich collapsed as he watched on helplessly from Bayern’s training facility.

Fulham had allowed the Portuguese midfielder to fly to Munich after reportedly agreeing to a fee in the region of €65 million with the German champions.

Though Palhinha arrived in Munich, the transfer was not completely sealed. Fulham was still reportedly searching for the 28-year-old’s replacement, which was a necessity for the Premier League club to allow one of its key players to depart.

Though the likes of Scott McTominay and Pierre-Emile Højbjerg were linked to the Cottagers, no deal went through prior to the 6 p.m. transfer deadline in Germany.

And so Palhinha — having already completed a medical and even taken photos with a Bayern shirt — saw his deadline-day move collapse in heartbreaking fashion.

It was a frustrating conclusion to a fruitless deadline day for Bayern, which also saw rumored moves for Armel Bella-Kotchap, Trevoh Chalobah and João Cancelo fall through.

But it was Palhinha’s collapsed deal which will hurt the most, as the Portugal international joins Peter Odemwingie in the annals of failed deadline-day transfers.

Sam Kerr thought Bayern wanted the other Sam Kerr when they called for her

Bayern Munich signed Kerr — the Scottish one, not the Australian — to a three-year deal in May

Scotland star Sam Kerr thought Bayern Munich’s interest in her must have been a “prank” — or at least a case of mistaken identity.

Kerr starred at Rangers for three seasons before the German giants moved for her in May, landing the midfielder on a three-year deal.

The 24-year-old happens to share a name with one of the biggest stars in the game, and she told the BBC’s “Behind the Goals” podcast that when she heard of Bayern’s interest, she thought the club must have been after the Chelsea and Australia striker instead.

“I was just relaxing in my room and my agent called saying: ‘Bayern Munich have come in for you,'” Kerr said.

“I said: ‘Are you sure they’ve got the right Sam Kerr?’ That’s the first thing I said to him!

“I was just a bit like ‘This can’t be real, this is a joke, you’re kidding me.’ But I was like, ‘Of course I want to speak to them.’

“A week later, it was happening on Zoom and it was just unbelievable. It looked far too good to be true. I thought surely something is going to happen, someone must be playing a prank on me.”

Kerr was named the 2022 Scotland Women’s Player of the Year, and has been capped 14 times by the Scottish national team.

“I’ve not really processed it,” she added on her move to Germany. “I saw FC Bayern on the [national team] squad list and I was just like, ‘What?’, I’m just Sam from Scotland who plays for Rangers, that’s how I see myself… It’s crazy.”

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Alphonso Davies: Barcelona didn’t want me because I’m Canadian

The left back moved to Bayern Munich in 2019, though he had plenty of options in Europe

Bayern Munich star Alphonso Davies has claimed that Barcelona turned down the opportunity to sign him in 2018 because he is Canadian.

At the time, Davies was a teenage star with the Vancouver Whitecaps, marking himself as one of the top prospects in North America after making his MLS debut at age 15.

Davies would eventually complete a transfer to Bayern Munich in January 2019, joining for a fee of up to $22 million in what was at the time the largest outgoing MLS transfer ever.

The left back/winger has gone on to become one of the top left-sided players in Europe, winning five Bundesliga titles and a Champions League while making more than 150 appearances for the club.

In an appearance on the Say Less Podcast, Davies revealed that Barcelona was among the clubs interested five years ago, but the La Liga giants were put off by his nationality.

“Barcelona actually reached out but the president said that they didn’t want me,” Davies said. “They said that they didn’t want me because I was Canadian.

“Not gonna lie, that crushed my feelings a little bit.”

Davies clarified that he did not receive that message directly from Josep Bartomeu, the Barcelona president at the time, but instead from media reports.

“That’s what came out in the media. I don’t know if he actually said that but it’s what came out.”

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Forbes ranks 20 most valuable soccer teams in the world

Valuations of the world’s biggest clubs are sky high

Who are the most valuable soccer teams in the world?

With success being more and more tied to an ability to spend, being a “big” club — at least in financial terms — is the clearest indicator of whether a given team is going to contend for trophies in the world’s top leagues.

That said, what defines value doesn’t necessarily require a team to be in the Premier League, La Liga, the Bundesliga, or Serie A. MLS has three teams in the top 20, including LAFC becoming the first club to break the $1 billion valuation barrier.

That said, Europe is still the home of the world’s biggest clubs, and its most valuable. In particular, eight of the top 20 hail from the Premier League, which will not be a particular surprise given the league’s global reach.

Here are Forbes’ 20 most valuable teams in global soccer.

The internet went wild over the Bundesliga’s final day

People are out here posting with honor

The unreal end of the 2022-23 Bundesliga season saw Bayern Munich claim the title thanks to an 89th minute winner and a legendary choke job from Borussia Dortmund.

Somewhere in the mix of Bayern’s inevitability and Dortmund’s ability to squander a good situation, there was a perfect recipe for one group and one group only: those who post with honor.

After a collapse like Dortmund’s — all they had to do was win a home game! — and Jamal Musiala’s dramatic late goal, the soccer world’s meme-makers got to work. The inveterate Twitter addicts started typing, and the stats nerds pulled up their relevant spreadsheets.

For the posters, it was go time.