At the end of a game full of twists and turns and penalties on each side, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid separated back-to-back to draw 2-2 in Tuesday’s Champions League semi-final first leg.
Everything will be decided in eight days at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium for a place in the final at Wembley on June 1 between the two biggest clubs in the history of European football.
The 75,000 spectators at the Allianz Arena were treated to a veritable rollercoaster ride of this classic of European football classics between Real’s 14 European Championship titles on one side and Bayern Munich’s 6 on the other.
First, the excitement of the start to a match dominated by Bayern and the chances of Leroy Sané (1st minute) or Harry Kane (5th). Disillusionment then followed when Madrid’s Brazilian striker Vinicius opened the scoring from Toni Kroos’ brilliant pass, a symbol of Real’s signature realism in European football’s premier competition.
Munich fans then experienced four minutes of pure euphoria in the second half between the 53rd and 57th minutes. In the percussion and thanks to Joshua Kimmich’s call, Leroy Sané was able to break into the penalty area and with a sharp right-footed shot he deceived Madrid’s Ukrainian goalkeeper Andrya Lunin.
Sané’s equalizer was immediately followed by a penalty in favor of Munich, which was awarded by Jamal Musiala after a foul by Lucas Vazquez.
The inevitable Harry Kane
And who else but Harry Kane to put Bayern in front and shake the house of Madrid, unbeaten in a match over 90 minutes since September 24 and failing against Atlético Madrid in the Spanish league (Atlético also eliminated Real in the quarter-finals of the Spanish Cup, but after extra time)?
Kane, who arrived for a hefty price in the summer of 2023, week after week justifies Bayern’s investment of more than €100 million to pry him away from Tottenham and make him a replacement on the pitch and in the hearts of Bayern fans from the Polish goalscorer. Robert Lewandowski.
As usual, the England captain converted the penalty to score his eighth Champions League goal to join Kylian Mbappé as the top scorer, his 43rd this season, having added 35 in the Bundesliga.
But this eighth semi-final between Bayern and Real (three qualified for the final for Real against four for Bayern) took a new turn ten minutes from the end.
Bayern wants to save the season with C1
Rodrygo was fired into the penalty area and Kim was hooked. Vinicius quickly scored his double to keep Madrid’s hopes alive ahead of the second leg in eight days at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Munich have only the Champions League left to salvage a 2023/24 season marred by losing the German title for the first time since 2013 to Bayer Leverkusen and crashing out in the round of 16. The German Cup on the turf of Saarbrücken, a humble inhabitant of the 3rd division.
Next week they will be pressed for a big performance, which reigning European champions Manchester City failed to achieve in the quarter-final first leg at the start of April.
Conversely, the Madrilenians are in a strong position to win La Liga, with 11 points ahead of FC Barcelona five days before the end of the season. They could even mathematically secure the crown on Saturday before visiting Bayern in the event of a win against Cádiz and a poor performance by Barca at Girona, 3rd in La Liga.
