- Sven Ulreich has opened up on the costly mistake he made against Real Madrid
- The teams were level when Corentin Tolisso played a short back pass to Ulreich
- Ulreich attempted to clear it with his foot but let the ball slip under his body
- His error allowed Karim Benzema to latch onto the ball and tap into an empty net
Bayern Munich goalkeeper Sven Ulreich has opened up on the costly mistake that saw Real Madrid reach the Champions League semi-finals at the expense of the German giants.
The teams were level at 1-1 at the start of the second half in the Bernabeu when Corentin Tolisso, under pressure from Toni Kroos, played a short back pass to Ulreich.
The Bayern goalkeeper would have reached the ball ahead of Karim Benzema but he appeared to realise late that he wasn’t allowed to pick it up. Instead, he attempted to clear it with his foot but let the ball squirm through his body for Benzema to score.
Bayern Munich’s Sven Ulreich has opened up on the costly mistake he made at Real Madrid
Ulreich revealed what exactly happened from his point of view, claiming he had two thoughts but ‘didn’t choose correctly’.
‘As the back pass came towards me, it looked for a second like Benzema was about to get a foot on it, so I adjusted to a one-on-one situation,’ the German told SportBild.
‘But then the ball came through and I only thought “uh oh, now I can’t pick it up”.
‘Then I wanted to clear it with my feet, but I couldn’t adjust. And then couldn’t save it with my hand again either. It all happened in the space of milliseconds. I had two thoughts – I just didn’t choose correctly.’
The German failed to deal with a short back pass from Corentin Tolisso and let it run through
Ulreich’s mistake allowed Karim Benzema to notch his second goal of the night in Madrid
Bayern ended up with a 2-2 draw, but Real progressed to their third consecutive final with a 4-3 aggregate win following a 2-1 victory in Munich last week.
Ulreich, who had been playing well while filling in for the injured Manuel Neuer this season, sat alone on the field long after the final whistle.
‘Words cannot describe how disappointed I am over the Champions League exit. We really wanted to reach the final and we gave our best and then this unnecessary mistake happened to me,’ he wrote on Instagram.
‘I can’t explain it. I’m sorry… for my team and for you fans.’
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