Real Madrid booked their place in the final of the Champions League for the third season in a row this evening, but only after holding off a valiant fightback from Bayern Munich at the Bernabeu.
The visitors trailed 2-1 after their home first leg, but took only three minutes to get their first away goal of the night when Joshua Kimmich swept a loose ball home.
Karim Benzema levelled things up eight minutes later, though, before doubling his personal tally following a monumental mistake from Bayern goalkeeper Sven Ulreich just seconds after half time.
James Rodriguez scored against his parent club to restore parity once again on the night, but Bayern could not find the one more goal they needed to progress through to the final and end Madrid's two-year reign as European champions.
Find out how all of the action unfolded on a breathless night in the Spanish capital courtesy of Sports Mole's minute-by-minute updates below.
Bayern have it all to do this evening as they look to overturn a 2-1 deficit from the home first leg, leaving them needing at least two goals in the Spanish capital tonight. The Germans have scored goals all season, though, and Madrid - bidding for a third successive Champions League title - only need to look to their most recent home game in the competition for reason not to be complacent.
We will have a close look at both teams in a short while, but first let's check out the team news...
Well, the headline news as far as the home side are concerned is that Gareth Bale once again misses out, with the Welshman named on the bench for the second leg just like he was for the first. Zinedine Zidane seems to have lost a bit of faith in the winger and is not selecting him for the biggest games, although Bale is still reportedly happy at the club despite falling down the pecking order.
Karim Benzema does return to the starting lineup having himself missed out last week, though, and he is expected to lead the line alongside Cristiano Ronaldo despite a relatively poor season in the goalscoring stakes.
Indeed, he has 15 Champions League goals for the season already, and the only person in the history of the competition to have bettered that tally in a single campaign is Ronaldo himself, scoring 17 in 2013-14 and 16 in 2015-16. He has scored a whopping 25 goals in his last 16 Champions League outings - including that overhead stunner against Juventus in the last round.
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The Portuguese talisman has scored seven goals in his last four appearances against the Bavarians - including five of his side's six goals in the quarter-final last season - and nine in seven matches against Bayern overall. The only player to have netted more goals against a single opponent in Champions League history is once again Ronaldo himself, who has notched 10 against Juventus.
This will be Ronaldo's 152nd Champions League appearance, incidentally, which takes him above Xavi and behind only Iker Casillas in the all-time list.
On the opposite side of defence, Lucas Vazquez is chosen to play at right-back with Dani Carvajal having picked up a hamstring injury in the first leg. In all Zidane has made three changes from that first leg, with match-winner Asensio, Benzema and Kovacic handed starts while Carvajal, Casemiro and Isco drop out.
Bayern do still, of course, have plenty of talent in their starting lineup, but their squad is being stretched to the max and this is certainly not a full-strength Bayern which travels to the Bernabeu tonight.
That is one of four changes made by Jupp Heynckes to the first leg, with Sule replacing the injured Boateng, Tolisso coming in for Martinez and Thiago taking Robben's place. All of those three picked up injuries which forced them off the pitch in the first leg, although Martinez is deemed fit enough for a place on the bench tonight.
However, over the course of the season his away record stands at 13 goals in 21 games, compared to 25 goals in 22 home outings, so he is clearly better at the Allianz Arena. He has also failed to score in his past four Champions League games, which is his longest such drought with the club and his joint-longest ever.
Madrid will still be wary of him, though, with Lewandowski having scored six goals in his seven previous meetings with Los Blancos - including a four-goal haul in one match during his time at Dortmund.
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The visitors will also be hoping for the likes of James Rodriguez - currently on loan from Real Madrid - and Franck Ribery - arguably Bayern's standout player of the first leg - to provide the goals which they need to progress.
Of course, you only need to look back as far as the last round for what can happen in this competition when Juventus almost pulled off a remarkable turnaround at the Bernabeu, only for Ronaldo's controversial 97th-minute penalty to send Madrid through to the last four without the need for extra time.
Zidane's side were nowhere near their best in the first leg of this tie - and in truth they were fortunate to come away with anything given how many chances Bayern had - but they ground out a win and now find themselves on the brink of a third successive final.
Madrid's domestic campaign has been poor, and they have already surrendered their title to Barcelona ahead of Sunday's Clasico, so they really need this Champions League title to salvage their season. Madrid is a club which demands success and silverware, and winning this trophy may be the only way for Zidane to keep his job.
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The two-time defending champions have had a very difficult run to this stage, being drawn against Tottenham and Borussia Dortmund in the group stages - where they only finished second - and then facing tournament favourites PSG in the last 16.
Madrid won both legs of that tie to progress through 5-2 on aggregate, and then sealed that nail-biting win over Juventus in the last round. Having already seen off the French and Italian champions, they are now looking to do the same to the German champions.
In terms of what is actually on the line in terms of points and trophies, it is one of the less important Clasicos in recent years, but it is a fixture which always brings with it huge importance even with nothing on the line. Madrid have spiced things up even more by saying that they will not give the newly-crowned champions a guard of honour at the Camp Nou, and victory tonight should send them to Catalonia full of confidence.
Indeed, it is a similar story here at the Bernabeu, where it is six matches since their last clean sheet, which also just so happens to be their only one in their last 14 home outings - a run which stretches back to December 9.
Los Blancos have also only ever lost one of the 33 European ties in which they have won the first leg away from home, with that defeat coming back in 1994-95 - against Odense, of all teams, in the third round of the UEFA Cup.
Should it be a similar story tonight then you'd have to back Bayern to be more ruthless, though, with the German giants having scored a whopping 74 goals in their 22 fixtures this calendar year. Indeed, they have scored 31 goals in their last nine outings and have found the back of the net four or more times in 11 separate games already in 2018.
Bayern were actually on the wrong end of the most recent example - against Inter Milan in the 2010-11 round of 16 - while the only other occasion it has happened came when Ajax beat Panathinaikos in the 1995-96 semi-finals.
Jupp Heynckes initially stepped down as Bayern boss after winning the treble in 2013, but he took over until the end of the season following the sacking of Ancelotti earlier this term and could still claim yet another treble before he retires once again. That would take an unprecedented turnaround here, but he has already clinched a record-breaking sixth successive Bundesliga title with five games to spare and is in the DFB-Pokal final later this month.
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That Ancelotti sacking came in the wake of their 3-0 defeat to PSG in the group stages of this competition, but Bayern had been unbeaten in eight Champions League games since them - including seven wins in a row - before their defeat in the first leg of this tie.
A draw in the second leg of their quarter-final with Sevilla means that Bayern are in danger of failing to win three Champions League games in a row for the first time since 2009 tonight, but they have won 12 of their last 13 away games in all competitions, stretching all the way back to November.
In fact, Bayern have won as many of their last four Champions League away games as they had in their previous 16, although the major concern tonight will be that they have not kept a clean sheet on the road in this competition since December 2015 - a run of 13 which equals their longest ever in the competition.
The Bavarians also have a dreadful record against Spanish opposition in recent seasons, having been knocked out of this competition by a La Liga side in each of the last four campaigns - including three times in the semi-finals.
Bayern certainly have the firepower to trouble Real Madrid tonight - particularly if they are more clinical and Madrid play like they did in the second leg against Juventus - but it is still hard to see past the hosts. It might have been a different story with a full-strength Bayern, but they are missing so many key players that it would be some achievement if they managed to turn this one around.
SPORTS MOLE SAYS: Real Madrid 3-2 Bayern Munich (Madrid win 5-3 on aggregate)
The recent history has been with Madrid, though, with Bayern losing their last six meetings with Los Blancos - their longest ever run against one opponent in European competition. You have to go back to May 2001 - when Giovane Elber score the only goal of the game - for Bayern's last away win against Madrid.
Madrid have been a lot more dominant here at the Bernabeu, though, winning nine and losing just two of their previous 12 matches against Bayern on their own patch. Indeed, against German teams in general Madrid have a fine home record, with 25 wins and only three losses in 33 such matches.
Bayern's record against Spanish opposition in two-legged ties is split evenly at W10 L10, but away from home they have lost 15 of their 27 previous visits to these shores.
REAL MADRID STARTING XI: Navas; Vazquez, Varane, Ramos, Marcelo; Kroos, Modric, Kovacic, Asensio; Benzema, Ronaldo
BAYERN MUNICH STARTING XI: Ulreich; Kimmich, Sule, Hummels, Alaba; Tolisso, Thiago, Rodriguez, Muller, Ribery; Lewandowski
A cross into the box from Muller is not dealt with very well at all by Madrid and the ball drops at the feet of Kimmich, who sweeps home his finish to get his name on the scoresheet in both legs. Incredible start from Bayern - just what they would have wanted.
7 - Joshua Kimmich has been directly involved in seven goals in the Champions League this season, more than any other Bayern player (4 goals, 3 assists). Starlet.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) May 1, 2018
It comes from the hosts' first real spell of possession in the Bayern half as Kovacic picks out a lovely diagonal ball to Marcelo, who instantly brings it under his spell. the cross is equally perfect to the back post, where Benzema is unmarked to plant his header into the back of the net.
Real Madrid have now scored in 42 consecutive home matches in Europe, equaling the record set by Tottenham Hotspur (1961-1984).
— Gracenote Live (@GracenoteLive) May 1, 2018
Tottenham's run was ended by a 1-0 home loss versus Real Madrid in March 1985.
28 - Karim Benzema's equaliser ended a move of 28 completed passes by Real Madrid - only Lucas Digne's goal for Barcelona against Olympiakos (29) has featured more in the Champions League this season. Expression. pic.twitter.com/Dl9i7o6QI1
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) May 1, 2018
5 - Top 5 all-time goal scorers in the Champions League:
— OptaJose (@OptaJose) May 1, 2018
Cristiano Ronaldo 120
Lionel Messi 100
Raúl González 71
Ruud Van Nistelrooy 56
KARIM BENZEMA 54
Olympus. pic.twitter.com/SUSxm0JYUr
Bayern have been the better team and have created a lot of chances once again, but again they are not making the most of them. It is very finely poised at 1-1 - a scoreline Madrid will be happy with considering how the game has gone - and I would be very surprised if we didn't see more goals in the second half.
Ramos failed to a cut a cross out having attempted an ambitious flick away, and that led to the ball falling kindly at the feet of Kimmich, who swept his finish home.
The goal came at the end of a 28-pass move, which including Kovacic's pass out to Marcelo and the Brazilian's subsequent cross to pick out Benzema. The Frenchman has peeled off Alaba and planted his header into the back of the net, although that did not change Bayern's task of needing at least one more goal.
Lewandowski, Muller and Tolisso have all threatened, but the best chance went to Rodriguez, who somehow blasted his finish over an empty net from point-blank range - although it did arrive at him quickly.
Real Madrid have spent most of the time on the back foot, but Ronaldo and Ramos have had sights of goal too. The next goal in this match will be crucial, and on the evidence of that first half it is most likely to fall the way of Bayern.
Tolisso's pass back to the keeper looked like selling him short, but Ulreich still looked like getting there first. However, he remembers just in time that he cannot go with his hands, and subsequently tries to readjust but completely misses it with his legs. That allows the ball to run through to Benzema, who is left with the simplest of finishes.
It is an absolute shocker from the keeper - I haven't seen anything like that before, especially in such a big game!
Just confirming this actually happened and is not a FIFA '18 bug 🙈 pic.twitter.com/nNsfSDZvm4
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) May 1, 2018
Sule, who has been very good tonight, finds himself on the right flank and puts a cross in to James, who meets it with a firm half-volley first time. That effort is blocked by Varane, but he is alive to the loose ball and slides it under Navas from a tight angle. No celebration from James, but everyone else in Bayern colours is making up for that.
Bayern will be left ruing a string of missed chances and errors which ultimately cost them over the two legs - including a huge howler from goalkeeper Sven Ulreich tonight. They had enough chances to win the tie quite comfortably, though, so they can only really have themselves to blame for coming away with nothing tonight.
The aforementioned howler from Ulreich - which saw him momentarily forget the pass-back rule and try to readjust when it was too late - gifted Benzema a second less than a minute into the second half, but James Rodriguez made things interesting by restoring parity again on the night.
That left Bayern needing just one more goal to progress, but despite some heavy pressure they could not find it as Madrid held on for the 4-3 aggregate victory.
Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for tonight's match as Real Madrid hold off Bayern Munich to progress through to the Champions League final following a thriller at the Bernabeu. I will leave you with our match report, and be sure to stick around for reaction too.
From me, though, it is goodbye for now!
