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.
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.'
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.'
JesusisLord
100
every player in world on every level has made at least one decision in game that was not beneficial to their team .....yes it is unfortunate that some mistakes are more costly than others ...but the fact is that its not the mistake that determines a man(player) but its how you get up from your mistake and how u apply yourself next time when you get an oppertunity to step up ...
NisarRM
60
Well...this is called life. We all have been given choices in life and I am sure we all have made mistakes with our choices. In this case this happened so fast, it is so wrong to blame Ulreich. We all had the comfort of sitting in front of TV or be in stadium and enjoy and analyse the mistake, but try putting yourself in Ulreich's shoes and think what would you have done in split second? Sports like life always gives second chance. He has to just put this incident in the back burner and train hard to be in a position to make better choices and win games for his team and fans. Best wishes for your future games..
Rozilsound
51
Neuer, Casillas, Buffon, Van der saar, and even Navas that went through have all made errors in their careers... all that matters is not making them repeatedly cause Keepers aren't allowed to make as much errors as other outfield players...wish you all the best in you carrer
29356899(deleted)
49
mistakes happen all the time. In life mistakes lead to horrible situations. Anyone who blames Ulreich for that one mistake, doesn’t have a heart. This young man will remember this one moment for the rest of his life. ⚽️✌️