Trailing Manchester City by three goals at the start of the night, there was little room for error for Bayern tonight and when Leroy Sane burst through on goal, the Allianz Arena held its breath.
Unfortunately for the Bayern faithful, Sane’s effort drifted agonisingly wide and their evening almost got even worse moments later when Dayot Upamecano felled Erling Haaland as the last man and was ultimately dismissed, only to be handed a reprieve moments later as City’s Norwegian hitman was adjudged to have been offside.
Upamecano’s luck really did appear to be in tonight as his next blunder was conceding a penalty after handling İlkay Gundogan’s effort, but fortunately for the Frenchman, Haaland incredibly blazed over.
That was perhaps where Bayern’s luck ended and City’s began though, as on the stroke of half time Kingsley Coman’s goal-bound ferocious strike was inadvertently blocked by teammate Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting.
After two earlier reprieves for Upamecano, his luck eventually ran out and in catastrophic circumstances as he slipped at the critical moment to allow Haaland a clear sighting of goal, and after his earlier penalty miss, no way was he blowing this one.
A goal to the good, you’d be forgiven for expecting confidence to be coursing through City’s veins, but it was instead Bayern who kept their foot to the floor, with Choupo-Moting forcing a smart save out of Ederson.
As though one comical penalty for handball wasn’t enough, Clement Turpin decided to award another when Manuel Akanji handled in the area and Joshua Kimmich duly stepped forward to net Bayern a consolation from 12 yards.
That strike had no bearing on the tie though, with City claiming a 4-1 aggregate victory to see them into the semi-finals as they chase down a first-ever European crown.
As for Bayern, their attention now switches back to the Bundesliga where they continue to hunt an eleventh-straight title.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Ilkay Gundogan (Manchester City)
