Bayern Munich’s Kim Min-jae, second from left, hits the bar from a header, in Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, Spain, May 8. Reuters-Yonhap
Korean defender Kim Min-jae found the woodwork with a late header as a second-half substitute, unable to help his Bayern Munich past Real Madrid in the semifinals of the UEFA Champions League.
The Spanish giants defeated the German side 2-1 in the second leg of the semifinals of the top European club tournament at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid on Wednesday (local time) and advanced to the final on 4-3 aggregate.
Real Madrid had managed a 2-2 draw in the opening leg in Germany last week, with Kim committing two costly mistakes on defense.
Kim has fallen out of favor of head coach Thomas Tuchel in recent weeks, following his highly anticipated arrival in Germany last summer after leading Napoli to their first Italian Serie A title in 33 years.
In the second leg, Kim entered the match in the 76th minute for midfielder Leroy Sane, with Bayern nursing a 1-0 lead for the match and a 3-2 lead on aggregate.
Kim nearly doubled his team’s lead six minutes later, when his header off Joshua Kimmich’s corner struck the crossbar.
That miss haunted Bayern as Joselu leveled for Real Madrid in the 88th minute. The forward then scored the go-ahead goal a minute into added time to send Real Madrid into the final for the second time in three seasons.
They already lead all clubs with 14 Champions League titles.
Bayern, meanwhile, will end up without any trophy for the first time in a dozen years. They have ceded the Bundesliga crown to Bayer Leverkusen and suffered an early elimination at the DFB-Pokal, the German national cup competition.
Bayern’s elimination ensures there won’t be any Korean presence in this year’s final. On Tuesday, Paris Saint-German and their Korean midfielder Lee Kang-in lost to Borussia Dortmund 1-0 in the second leg of their semifinals and fell 2-0 on aggregate. (Yonhap)
