A case of so close, but so far, for Franck Ribery as Bayern Munich crash out of the Champions League

Aditya Devavrat 08:53 02/05/2018
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  • For the second year running, Bayern Munich put in an outstanding performance against Real Madrid in the Champions League only to come up short.

    Trailing 2-1 from the first leg of the semi-final, Bayern took an early lead but were held to a 2-2 draw and bowed out.

    Here, we look at how Franck Ribery performed for the Bundesliga giants.

    KEY STATS

    Goals – 0

    Assists – 0

    Shots – 0

    Shots on Target – 0

    Key Passes – 3

    Passing Accuracy – 81%

    Dribbles – 1

    Touches – 62

    30-SECOND REPORT

    In a Bayern team shorn of Arjen Robben, Ribery’s partner in crime, the Frenchman took on the responsibility of being his side’s sole wing creator. He popped up everywhere, looking to provide the telling moment.

    However, he didn’t win his duel with makeshift Madrid right-back Lucas Vazquez as easily as he should have, a fact that will leave him disappointed.

    GOT RIGHT

    At times this was the Ribery of old, as he popped up everywhere, drove at the opposition, and looked to provide an impact however he could. His movement put him in dangerous positions, while his vision and passing ability kept creating chances for his teammates.

    He looked dangerous nearly every time he got on the ball.

    GOT WRONG

    The game was set up for Ribery to dominate. In Vazquez, he had a makeshift defender he should have been making mincemeat of. Although Ribery didn’t exactly lose this duel, he didn’t win it handily enough.

    Vazquez won four out of five attempted tackles – not all against Ribery, to be fair, but the Frenchman didn’t make enough of his opponent’s unfamiliarity with the position.

    Ribery failed to win his matchup Vazquez as well as he could have.

    Franck Ribery failed to win his match-up with Lucas Vazquez.

    KEY MOMENTS

    32nd minute, CHANCE: Madrid’s defence stand off Ribery and he nearly makes them pay, running down the flank and teeing up Thomas Muller in the box. Keylor Navas is forced into a good save.

    76th minute, CHANCE: Ribery produces a delicate dink to set up James Rodriguez, who looks certain to score a goal that would knock his old club out. Instead, Raphael Varane puts in a superb block to deny Bayern.

    VERDICT

    It was a case of so near, but so far for Ribery. On so many occasions, it looked like Bayern would score as a direct result of the winger’s play, only for the Real Madrid defence to come up with a timely intervention.

    His inability to dominate Vazquez was a source of frustration, and ultimately proved to be Bayern’s downfall.

    RATING 6/10

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