FC Bayern got off to a strong start in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final. In the end he has to be content with a 2-2 draw against Real Madrid.
The semi-final first leg between Bayern Munich and Real Madrid ended in a draw.
Imago/Daniela Porcelli
(sda) Bayern Munich missed the fight for Champions League victory and a conciliatory end to the season. The dethroned German champions and Real Madrid drew 2-2 in the first leg of the first semi-final in Munich.
Vinicius Junior scored both goals for Real Madrid at the Allianz Arena. In between, Leroy Sané and Harry Kane turned a 0-1 into a 2-1 within four minutes at the start of the second half. Sané equalized in the 53rd minute after a fine individual effort with a shot into the near corner. Shortly afterwards, Kane converted a penalty after a foul by Lucas Vazquez against Jamal Musiala.
Vinicius Junior recorded the first shot on goal for Real in the 24th minute. After a perfect through ball from Toni Kroos, he scored alone in front of Manuel Neuer against the run of play to make it 1-0. The opening goal was facilitated by poor positioning by Kim Min-jae. The South Korean was also responsible for the 2-2 draw. Kim Min-jae, who had moved into the starting line-up in place of Matthijs de Ligt, who was out injured, stopped Rodrygo in the penalty area clearly illegally, whereupon Vinicius Junior converted the penalty to equalize.
Bayern’s strong start didn’t result in a goal
Bayern avoided defeat. The starting position before the second leg on Wednesday in a week’s time is poor. Thanks to Sané (1st and 7th minutes), Harry Kane (6th/9th) and Jamal Musiala (12th), who also got fit in time, there were various goals in the furious first quarter of an hour. However, none of them were able to succeed in this phase.
Above all, the early chance shortly after kick-off from Sané, who sat out the Bundesliga in order to be able to play in the Champions League despite pain, could have made it 1-0. Andrej Lunin just got the tip of his foot to the ball.
With their home defeat, Bayern Munich are taking another step closer to their first season without a title since 2012. In order to make it to the final on June 1st at Wembley Stadium in London, the team needs a win at the Bernabéu next week. Real’s last home defeat in a competitive game, the 4-0 loss to Manchester City in the second leg of last season’s Champions League semi-final, was almost a year ago.
Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain will duel in the second semi-final of this year’s competition on Wednesday.