Real Madrid fail to beat FC Bayern in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. The international press is blown away. A match that will live long in the memory.
16.04.2026, 13:00
16.04.2026, 15:06
dpa
After Bayern Munich's quarter-final victory over Real Madrid in the Champions League, the Spanish press refrained from harsh criticism of the royals. Referee Slavko Vinčić from Slovenia was criticized much more harshly after Bayern's 4:3 win in the second leg (first leg: 2:1) due to his yellow card for Eduardo Camavinga at 3:2 for Real.
Switzerland 🇨🇭
"Blick": "In the 94th, Michael Olise (24) scores to make it 4:3. That's fitting for an evening when the motto is: Ready, steady, goal! There are supposed to be teams that approach a quarter-final second leg in the world's most important club competition with cautious tactics. But not FC Bayern Munich and Real Madrid."
"NZZ": "Bayern Munich knock Real Madrid out of the Champions League for the first time since 2012. Defending champions Paris Saint-Germain await in the semi-finals. Five goals were scored in the first half alone in the 4:3 win. Bayern made a lot of mistakes, but the team knows how to deal with setbacks."
Spain 🇪🇸
"ABC": "Camavinga, the stupidest sending off at the worst possible moment. The Frenchman left his team with ten men when everything pointed to extra time."
"AS": "Honorable farewell in Munich. In the Allianz Arena, they pushed the Germans to their limits in a heroic game, with an unprecedented level of sacrifice - and that after Camavinga was sent off, which needs to be appealed. An arbitrary decision by Vinčić, curiously Ceferin's compatriot, which arguably decided a beautiful duel in which Real Madrid were three times in the lead. The Whites will be left with the bitterness of not having been as strong as they were in Munich all year."
"El Mundo": "The pride in Munich could not prevent the defeat that leaves Real Madrid without a title this year. Camavinga's controversial sending off was the decisive factor in Arbeloa's side losing 4-3 to Bayern, who will face PSG in the semi-finals."
"Marca": "What an injustice! (...) Real Madrid say goodbye with dignity. The Whites take a 3-2 lead and hold out against Bayern until the 89th minute, after Vinčić ridiculously sends off Camavinga following a childish foul. A brace from Arda, a goal from Mbappé and a worthy end to a disappointing year."
"Mundo deportivo":"Real Madrid say goodbye to everything."
"Sport": "Bayern Munich leave Real Madrid empty-handed and take away their myth. (...) A defeat without any myth, in which Luis Díaz publicly condemned a Real Madrid that only played with ten men after Camavinga was sent off - an apt reflection of a season full of mistakes. Olise completed the work."
United Kingdom 🇬🇧
"Daily Mail": "The formidable German giants underlined why they are currently Europe's most in-form side in an enthralling game."
"Independent": "Bayern Munich miss out on knocking out Real in an epic Champions League match."
"The Guardian": "When the dust had settled after an absolutely riveting first and second leg, FC Bayern Munich could bask in the glory of a historic victory and revel in the prospect of a semi-final against Paris Saint-Germain. It's the clash most neutral spectators wanted, but the bar for entertainment is now sky high."
"The Sun": "You couldn't take your eyes off the game for a moment. (...) With Camavinga's moment of stupidity - he brought down Kane despite already having a yellow card and then ran off with the ball - the momentum changed at the end."
France 🇫🇷
"L'Équipe": "Furious madness. (...) These are the Bavarians for PSG. (...) The semi-final between the two big favorites of the competition - Bayern Munich and PSG - will actually take place. But who would have thought that Bayern would have so much trouble knocking Real Madrid out of the competition in two games - after a rather extraordinary second leg that completely upset the Spaniards."
"Le Parisien": "Completely unpredictable, the game changed in the first half like a veritable game of table tennis. (...) So it's FC Bayern Munich who will face PSG, who qualified on Tuesday thanks to their victory at Anfield (0:2). An opponent against whom the Parisians usually struggle and often lose."
"Le Monde": "Real Madrid, honorably eliminated from the Champions League, are heading for a season without a title. After a spectacular game, Bayern Munich qualified for the semi-finals of the European competition with a 4-3 win against a combative Real Madrid."
"Le Sud Ouest": "FC Bayern Munich had to tremble on Wednesday evening after trailing Real Madrid for a long time in the second leg of the Champions League quarter-final. (...) The first half was completely crazy."
Italy 🇮🇹
"Gazzetta dello Sport": "Bayern after a memorable show in the semi-final. (...) An absurd first half."
"La Repubblica": "Bayern against Real is in a class of its own."
"Tuttosport": "Neuer debacle, Diaz and Olise save him: Güler and Mbappé raise false hopes, Camavinga seals Real's fate. All sorts of things happened at the Allianz Arena: glaring mistakes, seven goals and a red card that caused the fury of the Madrilenians to explode."
Austria 🇦🇹
"Kurier": "More spectacle is not possible. Bayern Munich and Real Madrid delivered a memorable second leg for a place in the semi-finals of the Champions League."
