A dramatic turn of events in Munich saw Bayern Munich escape as the eventual victors, despite a below-par performance for much of the contest.
Juventus looked to be destined for disappointment after the news that talismanic midfielder Claudio Marchisio, Paulo Dybala and Giorgio Chiellini would be missing the second leg through injury. Bayern were also suffering from the absence of Arjen Robben, but it was clear who the favourites were going into the Munich showdown.
A quick start from the visitors rattled the Bavarians and it showed as a misplaced pass in the sixth minute resulted in Paul Pogba finding the ball at his feet with an empty net to aim at, the Frenchman - a day older than 23 - netted with aplomb to set alarm bells ringing for Pep Guardiola's men. Juventus sat back and were happy for the ball to be played in front of them, a firm gate locked out the side that has scored 43 goals in 13 games on home turf in the Bundesliga this season.
More pressing from Max Allegri's men shook even Manuel Neuer, one of the world's finest in terms of ball playing goalkeepers. His concentration was non-existent, a rushed, poorly executed pass went straight to Sami Khedira, who played an instant pass towards Alvaro Morata and the Spaniard was wrongly adjudged to be offside despite his neat finish past Neuer.
Morata was the creative fulcrum for the Bianconeri for the majority of the game, though this was helped by Pogba's presence alongside him in a more advanced role. The 23 year old broke at pace from the halfway line and darted at three defenders, turning Bayern youth product Josua Kimmich inside out en route a mazy run which found teammate Cuadrado bursting forward on the right flank. The Colombian kept a cool head to feint a shot and escape the challenge of Phillip Lahm before slotting past Neuer and give Juventus a 4-2 lead on aggregate.
- With such a fantastic finish, it's no wonder Cuadrado had a huge smile on his face (Tobias Schwartz)
Gianluigi Buffon, who hadn't conceded since Arjen Robben's strike in Turin a fortnight ago was relatively relaxed in the first half, untested up until the 42nd minute when Thomas Muller was looking to thwart the Italian 'keeper.
An inefficient 30 minutes in the second half made for a tense finish to the game, where a Juventus goal would have left Bayern needing to reply with 4 of their own.
The siege mentality kicked in as Kingsley Coman - on loan from Juventus - replaced Xabi Alonso and began to whip in dangerous crosses frequently and accurately towards Robert Lewandowski and Thomas Muller. It was however, a cross by Douglas Costa that found Lewandowski in the 73rd minute, a glancing header setting up the most unlikely of comebacks.
More pressure from Bayern, albeit unproductive, carved out few chances exactly when they were required most. Robert Lewandowski again a threat with a header crashing off the woodwork, Juventus seemed unfazed by the colossal pressure they had come under. Ultimately, it was the former Juve players Vidal and Coman who linked up to produce a wonderful cross for Thomas Muller in the 91st minute, his header sending the Allianz into delirium and giving Pep Guardiola infinite relief. However, the job was not done and another 30 minutes of extra time beckoned.
The tide had changed completely, the latter hour of the 120 minute contest was played in complete parallel to the first, Bayern in the driving seat, controlling the tempo as they searched for a winner. Their Italian guests seemed immensely worn out from 90 minutes of hard pressing.
Thiago, who entered the fray at the start of extra time, clearly the freshest player on the pitch played an intricate one-two with Muller 3 minutes into the second phase of extra time to smash past Buffon and complete an unlikely turnaround. Juventus hauled forward in search of the goal that would silence the Allianz, but were caught out by a rapid counter attacking goal by none other than Coman, his lung busting run and curled finish was personification of the marginal class that seperates Bayern and Juventus, Guardiola and Allegri.
Both sides are expected to win their domestic league and cup competitions so it's not hard to see why the Champions League is the most important competition, it's what the managers are judged on. Pep Guardiola has not won the trophy in his time with the German Champions since he arrived in 2013, when they were fresh off the Wembley triumph over Borussia Dortmund. For me, he has underachieved thus far post-Barcelona, and the only way he can walk away feeling genuinely satisfied with the job he has done is to topple his former employers in the latter stages of the competition.
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