JUDE BELLINGHAM will be joining the world’s most illustrious team on a grubby industrial estate in North West London in a bid to achieve a footballing dream.
Bellingham is on his way to Wembley to face Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League final on June 1 in the hope of capping an already memorable year by lifting the biggest prize in club football.
The 20-year-old must be thinking he is in dreamland already though for the way the 14 times winners of this competition clawed their way back into a game with two goals in three minutes in a pulsating end of the game.
They were heading out after Bayern Munich sub Alphonso Davies put the Germans ahead with 22 minutes to go and looked set for heartbreak only to pull yet another stunning victory on home turf out of the bag.
A horrendous slip from Munich keeper Manuel Neuer let Madrid sub Joselu in to pounce and level in the 88th minute.
And a nerve-wracking VAR check a minute into nine of added at the end eventually ruled his second goal onside when it was initially disallowed. Former Stoke City man Joselu got that as well.
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But Bellingham won’t care if his team scraped it. He is on his way to London on June 1 and just 90 minutes away from becoming a complete Galactico at the end of a sensational first season in Spain.
Suffering the pain of defeat will be Harry Kane, Bellingham’s national team captain for England.
His superb pass had put the Germans ahead and looked to be heading to the second Champions League final.
Kane had been Bayern’s biggest threat on Madrid’s goal all night but then turned provider with 22 minutes left by sending a sublime diagonal pass to Davies who promptly cut into the box and rifled home a cracking shot.
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Madrid thought they had levelled just three minutes later when centre back Nacho headed in but after a VAR check, it was ruled out for a foul by the same player.
The 14 times European champions were considered lucky to have got past Manchester City on penalties in the last round and needed every trick in the book to get through last night.
The roof was closed to maximise the atmosphere even though from walking up to the ground in closed streets amid plumes of smoke, it didn’t seem like it would need any help.
Madrid hadn’t lost a home game all season prior to this game. In fact they had only lost one anywhere – at city rivals Atletico.
With the Spanish title already in the bag, Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti was free to focus on the Champions League. For Bayern, Europe was a much-needed distraction from letting the Bundesliga slip from their grasp after a decade of domination.
With the game so delicately poised at two apiece and with no away goals rule now, it was going one of two ways. Either delicate and cautious or straight for the jugular, which is how it panned out.
Madrid went close within the first five minutes when Dani Carvajal’s low cross sailed across the Bayern box.
Munich replied in similar fashion when Serge Gnabry slid a diagonal across the face of Madrid’s goal. An inch or two further back and Kane would have met it to toe poke it home.
Then came a let off when Vinicius Jnr hit the post in the 13th minute. It was adrenaline fuelled stuff from the off.
The good thing about the roof being on at this new and impressive stadium is that the atmosphere was incessant. The bad news for the players is that it trapped the heat from a warm day in the Spanish capital.
Nobody expected either team to be able to play at their opening tempo for the full match but by the 25th minute the pace settled down.
Even so, Kane went close again for the Germans when he volleyed from the edge of the box, winning a corner just before the half hour mark.
In the tussle between the two England heavyweights Kane enjoyed the upper hand over Bellingham in the first half at least.
Kane was just beaten to the ball by Madrid keeper Andriy Lunin on the stroke of half time while for Bellingham, his input was largely restricted to defensive work.
Two great tackles and some clever footwork on the hoof, but not much in the way of offensive play to put the frighteners on Bayern in the way that he can.
Eight minutes into the second half, Madrid and Bellginham were fading. Kane was growing stronger and went close for a third time with a shot on the end of a bullying run into the box.
Even so, had Kane’s old Tottenham team-mate Eric Dier not been alert to the sudden threat of danger, Madrid would have taken the lead against the run of play when Rodrygo pounced upon a particularly cutting pass from Vinicius Jnr.
Bayern were under the cosh again but broke free and when Kane picked up the ball in his own half, he spotted Alphonso on the run and delivered the best pass of the match for his team-mate to run through and score.
All Bayern had to do was hold on for 11 minutes but an uncharacteristic slip by Neuer triggered a devastating end to their hopes.
The keeper failed to hold a routine shot from Vinicius and Joselu cashed in.
And then again in added time to turn a wild game on its head.
The result means that this is the first season since 2011/12 that Bayern Munich have not won a major trophy, while £104m summer signing Kane is still waiting to get his hands on a piece of silverware.
However, Bellingham is dreaming of lifting the cup with the big ears and defeating his old club.
He told TNT Sports: “There have been a lot of times we have looked dead and buried, but we have that mentality of never say die.
“Joselu deserves it all, he has been an amazing squad member this season.
“There is a reason we turn around so many games, it’s because of these lot [the fans].
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“They give you an energy you can’t get from anything else.
“When I was seven years old in Birmingham, I was dreaming of nights like this.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
