Madrid see off Bayern to reach third straight Champions League final

Real striker Karim Benzema celebrates after scoring his second goal. [Photo: Courtesy]

Holders Real Madrid reached the Champions League final for a third year in a row after taking advantage of Bayern Munich’s carelessness in attack and defence to draw 2-2 in their semi-final second leg on Tuesday, winning 4-3 on aggregate.

Bayern defender Joshua Kimmich put them in front in the third minute but Karim Benzema levelled with a free header in the 11th and a goalkeeping howler from Bayern’s Sven Ulreich allowed Benzema to tap in Madrid’s second at the start of the second half.

James Rodriguez, on loan from Madrid, hit a deserved equaliser for Bayern in the 63rd to set up a gripping finale but despite waves of pressure from the visitors, the Spaniards clung on, becoming the first team since Juventus in 1998 to reach the final for three years in succession.

They will meet either Liverpool or AS Roma in the final in Kiev on May 26, where they will be bidding to become the first side since Bayern in 1976 to win the competition three years in a row.