Thomas Tuchel's decision to take off Harry Kane could be 'the worst managerial substitution' in football history.
That is the view of ex-Chelsea defender Jason Cundy, who blasted the Bayern Munich boss following their heartbreaking defeat to Real Madrid on talkSPORT's Sports Bar in the aftermath of the semi-final.
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Bayern looked to be heading into the Champions League final to face German rivals Borussia Dortmund when Alphonso Davies' stunning second-half effort put them ahead in the second leg clash.
But Tuchel bizarrely decided to withdraw talisman Kane in the 85th minute for former Stoke striker Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting - a substitution that backfired spectacularly.
Just three minutes after taking off the England captain, who has scored 44 goals this season and is leading the Champions League Golden Boot race, Joselu equalised for Los Blancos after capitalising on a poor mistake by goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.
The game was then poised for extra-time with the scores level at 3-3 on aggregate, but Real had Bayern penned in as they pressed for a dramatic winner.
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With no out-ball on for the visitors following Kane's exit, Bayern dropped deeper and deeper, and Joselu was on hand to score the winner from close range in the first minute of stoppage time.
And despite having the ball in the back of the net after referee Szymon Marciniak had inexplicably blown his whistle for offside, Bayern looked toothless in attack in Kane's absence.
talkSPORT pundit Cundy was left flabbergasted by Tuchel's brave decision, as he ripped into the ex-Chelsea boss, stating he should bare responsibility for Bayern's defeat.
Speaking on The Sports Bar, he said: "It’s unforgivable. I don’t get at 85 [minutes] taking off Harry Kane and Jamal Musiala.
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“Maybe if you want to bring off an extra pair of legs in midfield - but to take off Kane when you might need a goal - he’s the highest goalscorer in all top five divisions.
"Highest scorer in the Champions League. And almost like clockwork it happened.
"Of course Manuel Neuer should hold it, but you create your own luck and that’s what Real Madrid do. They create their own fortune.
“Thomas Tuchel, at that level, that’s probably one of the worst managerial substitutions I think I’ve ever seen.
"It didn’t feel right at the time and I was thinking he had to win this otherwise people will talk about that. You weaken your own side and you give your opponents a lift."
He then simply added: "What's Choupo-Moting going to do?"
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Owen Hargreaves, who won the competition with Bayern and Manchester United, also questioned Tuchel's decision to replace Kane with Choupo-Moting, who has scored just three goals this term.
"I tell you what was unexpected, Harry Kane going off the pitch," he told TNT.
"That’s one of the biggest subs I’ve ever seen in a game of football of that magnitude.
"To take off a guy who has scored 44 goals, who is the most durable player pretty much anywhere... and bring on another striker in Choupo-Moting. Maybe he wanted height for corners, I don’t know -you cannot take him off!
"There’s five minutes left, maybe ten minutes injury time, 15 minutes left. I said straight away, 'Real Madrid are going to score'. And then what?
"That’s one of the biggest calls I’ve seen, I don’t know why they made that call. I love Tuchel, but... the subs, everyone is going to be talking about that. You cannot take Harry Kane off."
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Hargreaves' ex-United teammate Paul Scholes then suggested there was an air of arrogance surrounding the substitution.
He said: "In some ways it’s almost an arrogant sub. Thinking I can afford to take your biggest goalscorer, biggest threat off the pitch and still go on and beat Real Madrid."
Tuchel did explain why he chose to take Kane off, despite so much riding on the game.
“He couldn't keep going. He played with back pain and he couldn't keep going, his back froze up," he said.
"We started with a front four and all four had to go out with injury or cramp. The front four all said they had to go. It hurts. It’ll take a while to recover, but on the one hand it’s a loss where we left it all out on the pitch.
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"Of course, it’s tough to accept. It’s part of reality. No regrets. But on the other, there were too many injuries, a few too many substitutions, too many cramps.”
Kane's England teammate Jude Bellingham will now be the one to face Borussia Dortmund at Wembley in June.