AFPVinicius celebrates his opening goal
NOS Voetbal•gisteren, 22:52
The first semi-final between Bayern Munich and Real Madrid in the Champions League did not produce a winner. The superpowers in European football made it a very attractive match, with a 2-2 final score on the board after ninety minutes.
Bayern was the better side for almost the entire match, but was thwarted by the Brazilian Vinicius Junior, who played a good match and scored twice on behalf of Real Madrid.
Due to the draw, both teams still claim a place in the final, although Real will have home advantage in the return next Wednesday.
Flattering lead
Within a minute, Real Madrid goalkeeper Andrij Loenin had to make a save, as Bayern Munich smoothly combined through the Spanish defense. Leroy Sané was allowed to shoot in after a handy pass from Harry Kane, but did not do so accurately enough.
It turned out to be the harbinger for a dazzling opening phase, in which Bayern was much better and Real did not give a second of air. Only after 23 minutes did the Spaniards finally get close to goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, and the goal was immediate.
After a masterful pass from Toni Kroos, Vinicius Junior came face to face with Neuer. The Brazilian made no mistake and simply slid in for the flattering 0-1. A telling statistic: it was the Spaniards’ first goal attempt in this match.
AFPLeroy Sane slams the ball home
Vinicius’ goal seemed to put a blanket of resignation over the Allianz Arena, where 75,000 spectators suddenly made a lot less noise and the home team became more passive. The Bavarian genie seemed to be out of the bottle for a moment.
Comeback in four minutes
Shortly after half-time, Bayern changed that: in no time, ‘Der Rekordmeister’ completely turned the match around.
After just over fifty minutes, Sané received the ball on the right, before moving in and unleashing a devastating strike with his favorite left. It was an unstoppable shot in the short corner and meant the equalizer.
Four minutes later Bayern scored again. Jamal Musiala, the top talent with the inimitable dribbling, willingly dropped after a tap on his shin and thus scored a penalty. Harry Kane knew what to do: the Englishman aimed from eleven meters to make it 2-1.
ReutersHarry Kane has made it 2-1
In the remainder of the game, Bayern remained the dominant team, only plagued by a few outbreaks from Vinicius. Not entirely surprising, it was the Brazilian who was at the start and was the maker of the 2-2.
He sent his compatriot Rodrygo away with a through ball, which was put down by Kim Min-Jae: penalty. Vinicius took responsibility himself and stood behind the ball to shoot it in flawlessly.
Well-known recipe
This is how Real Madrid did it again: without having much ball possession or goal attempts, it managed to achieve a favorable result in a top European match. It is now a well-known recipe.
The disappointment afterwards was visible at Bayern Munich, where a frustrated trainer Thomas Tuchel could be seen. There could have been more in it for the South Germans.
