A Vinicius Junior brace and two quickfire goals from Bayern sets up a Champions League classic next week at the Bernabeu.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe Champions League semi-final tie is left in the balance as Real Madrid hold Bayern Munich to a 2-2 draw at the Allianz Arena. Vinicius’ well-taken opener stunned the home crowd, who expected Bayern to draw first blood after a dominant start. In the second half though, Bayern redeemed themselves with two goals in four minutes to turn the tie on it’s head.
Thomas Tuchel’s side seemed like they’d done enough to go the Bernabeu with an advantage, only for Kim to needlessly throw it away with a clumsy foul on Rodrygo, gifting Real Madrid a penalty. Vinicius was clinical again from the spot, levelling the tie with seven minutes to go.
Bayern Munich were quick off the blocks, causing trouble for Real Madrid immediately. The first barrage of chances came just 40 seconds in as Leroy Sane tested Andriy Lunin. Harry Kane unlocked the Madrid defence to tee up Sane, the angle seemed too narrow to score from but the German winger came close to breaking the deadlock in rapid fashion.
The one-way traffic continued as Kane saw two good chances pass him by. Sane was amongst the action again, this time the provider for Kane to have a shot on goal. Once again though Lunin pulled out a routine save to deny Kane’s left-footed strike. Moments later Kane caught his fellow Englishman Bellingham out in the midfield, dispossessing him on the halfway line. The Bayern forward noticed Lunin off his line and attempted to lob him. The optimistic shot landed on the roof of the net, sparing Bellingham’s blushes.
Embed from Getty ImagesReal Madrid weathered the early Bayern Munich storm and went against the run of play in the 24th minute as Vinicius broke the deadlock. Toni Kroos’ defence-splitting pass met the Brazilian who was able to beat Min-Jae Kim for pace and there was no doubting what would happen next. A cool slotted finish under Manuel Neuer’s outstretched leg and into the bottom right corner.
Former Bayern midfielder Kroos silenced the crowd with his assist, helping Vinicius net his 19th of the season in all competitions. The goal marked Real Madrid’s only shot on target in the first half, leaving Tuchel’s side understandably frustrated at the interval.
Embed from Getty ImagesBayern started the second half in similar fashion to the first and quickly reaped the reward for their constant attacking threat. Sane equalised eight minutes into the half with a thunderous strike past Lunin.
Konrad Laimer sprayed the ball out to the right winger to find the German but there was still so much to do. Sane burst into the space, cut inside to beat Ferland Mendy and struck the ball powerfully into the back of the net. Lunin would have been disappointed to get beaten at his near post but Sane really didn’t give him much chance.
Embed from Getty ImagesAfter almost an hour of trying, Bayern had finally put a goal past Lunin and very quickly got another. Kane scored from the spot to put Bayern ahead for the first time.
It was Jamal Musiala who won the penalty after being brought down by Lucas Vazquez. Musiala drove into the box and shifted the ball beyond Vazquez who left a leg dangling out to foul his opponent. Musiala jumped up to celebrate as referee Clement Trubin pointed to the spot.
Kane stepped up and made no mistake, rolling it into the bottom left corner, sending Lunin the wrong way. Not his normal powerful penalty into the side netting but they all count!
Embed from Getty ImagesBayern had the advantage and looked to build on it further, they arguably should have done too. Noussair Mazraoui broke down the left flank before cutting inside to Kane, his left-footed volley trickled just wide of the far post. Lunin remained rooted to the spot and gratefully watched the ball roll beyond the wrong side of the post.
Eric Dier was next to spurn a good chance as he failed to get any direction on his header. Joshua Kimmich lofted a great ball into the box from the corner to find Dier, the Englishman however couldn’t take advantage of being unmarked and powered his header straight at Lunin.
Embed from Getty ImagesKim didn’t have an easy job by any means, trying to keep one of the best wingers in the world quiet, but he didn’t help himself but continuously getting tight to Vinicius who beats most players in a foot race. It happened for the opener and lightning nearly struck twice in the 79th minute as Vinicius went through on goal again to meet a through ball from Madrid’s other veteran midfielder, Luka Modric.
Neuer bailed out his teammate with an assured save but Kim didn’t learn his lesson as three minutes later he was caught out again this time by Rodrygo. Vinicius fed the ball into his fellow Brazilian who spun Kim easily. The Bayern defender then unnecessarily dragged Rodrygo to the ground whilst tripping him up.
In the post-match press conference, Tuchel slammed Kim for his defensive errors. He said: “There’s no need to defend so aggressively, he’s too greedy there and was punished by the quality.”
Embed from Getty ImagesVinicius stepped up to face Neuer from 12 yards and despite the deafening squeals surrounding him, he managed to equalise as the European clash took yet another turn. He wheeled away in celebration, pointing up to the travelling Los Blancos fans in the stands and showing off his name on the back of his shirt. It’s a name that could haunt Bayern fans for many years as Cristiano Ronaldo’s did years ago.
After 90 minutes of thrilling football, the tie ended level. Bayern will look to Kane once more next week, he has been involved in 11 goals in the Champions League this season which is the most ever by an Englishman in a single campaign.
Bayern will be the underdogs now though, as Real Madrid have progressed on 18 out of 19 previous occasions when avoiding defeat away from home in the first leg of a Champions League knockout tie.
The return leg at the Santiago Bernabeu takes place next Wednesday, with the winner facing PSG or Borussia Dortmund in the final.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe line-ups
Bayern Munich – Manuel Neuer, Joshua Kimmich, Min-Jae Kim, Eric Dier, Noussair Mazraoui, Konrad Laimer, Leon Goretzka (Raphael Guerreiro 46’), Jamal Musiala, Thomas Muller (Serge Gnabry 80’), Leroy Sane (Alphonso Davies 87’), Harry Kane
Real Madrid – Andriy Lunin, Lucas Vazquez, Antonio Rudiger, Nacho Fernandez (Eduardo Camavinga 65’), Ferland Mendy, Federico Valverde, Aurelien Tchouameni, Toni Kroos (Brahim Diaz 76’), Rodrygo (Joselu 87’), Jude Bellingham (Luca Modric 75’), Vinicius Junior
Bookings
Bayern Munich – Noussair Mazraoui, Min-Jae Kim
Real Madrid – Toni Kroos, Lucas Vazquez
Man of the Match: Vinicius Junior
Referee: Clement Turpin
Written by Isabelle Newnham
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