A duel that sparked fireworks between Real Madrid and Bayern Munich. The Spanish side tried every which way, but Neuer, 40, shone once again.
The match began at a vertiginous pace, from area to area, but with the dangerous chances for Bayern, with the magic of Olise and a wide shot from Laimer that put Lunin on alert from the 1st minute.
The first minutes were a whirlwind for Real Madrid, between corner kicks and free kicks, the ball was concentrated in the merengue area. In the 10th minute, after a great cross from Kimmich and a sensational ball control from Kane to Upamecano, who, facing the goal, could not shoot with enough force to score the first for Bayern, left the ball bouncing in front of the goal, which was cleared by Carreras without problems.
The first dangerous chance for Madrid came only in the 16th minute, after a bad pass from Neuer, who gave it to Alexander-Arnold, who played a filtered pass to Mbappe, leaving him one-on-one with the German goalkeeper, who corrected his mistake by blocking the Frenchman’s shot successfully.
Miraculously, the score remained 0-0 after a series of mistakes in the buildup, from Neuer, Lunin, and Pitarch himself, who practically left the ball served to Gnabry near the penalty spot; however, he did not have the precision to beat the Ukrainian goalkeeper.
The first half ended with a tight match: neither team wanted to take any risks, so it became more of a midfield game, with passing errors and long-range shots, without any danger. Adding to these bad decisions was the childish yellow card to Tchouameni after a foul in the attacking third that represented no imminent danger for the white team. With this, the French midfielder will not be able to play the second leg in Munich.
When it seemed the match would go to halftime tied at 0, an excellent filtered pass from Gnabry and an excellent finish from Luis Diaz gave the advantage to the Bavarians. In a match where the Colombian had not been able to shine and looked somewhat subdued, he appeared as the big players do, and on his first chance, he sent it to the back of the net without hesitation.
The second half, where a change of attitude was expected from the merengue team to turn the score around, started with a dressing-room goal from Harry Kane, a magnificent shot from outside the area glued to Lunin’s left post, who stretched as much as he could, but it was not enough to stop the English striker’s shot. With this, Bayern went up 0-2 on the scoreboard.
The minutes following Kane’s goal belonged to Real Madrid, trying to penetrate the area through both wings, but Bayern’s defense did an excellent job stopping both Vinicius and Mbappe. No matter how hard the whites tried to get close to Neuer’s goal, the German defense did not allow anyone to cross the last line.
In the 61st minute, Upamecano made a serious mistake and, being the last defender, gave the ball to Vinicius, who went one-on-one against Neuer, who did a phenomenal job closing the angle on the Brazilian, who sent the ball into the net, but outside the field of play.
Again, the German goalkeeper, showing that at 40, he remains an elite goalkeeper, after a one-on-one against Mbappe, made an excellent save on a low shot, then got up quickly and, with his right arm, sent the ball to the corner kick, causing frustration for the French striker.
It was not until the 74th minute that Real Madrid, after a precise pass from Alexander-Arnold to Mbappe, who easily got behind Bayern’s defenders and only had to push it inside Neuer’s goal, managed to cut the deficit and get closer on the scoreboard, 1-2.
Thus, Bayern Munich returns home with a one-goal advantage. On the other side, Real Madrid should be thankful for the minimal deficit, because in the final minutes, they could have easily conceded 2 goals, but the fatigue of the German team’s players prevented them from converting those clear goal-scoring opportunities.
Real Madrid Player Ratings
A. Lunin, 8.0
T. Alexander-Arnold, 7.5
A. Rudiger, 6.4
D. Huijsen, 6.5
A. Carreras, 7.3
F. Valverde, 7.1
T. Pitarch, 6.1
A. Tchouameni, 6.6
A. Guler, 7.3
K. Mbappe, 7.9
Vinicius Jr, 7.1
Bayern Munich Player Ratings
M. Neuer, 8.9
K. Laimer, 6.5
J. Tah, 6.3
D. Upamecano, 6.3
J. Stanisic, 7.0
J. Kimmich, 7.5
A. Pavlovic, 7.4
L. Diaz, 6.8
S. Gnabry, 6.8
M. Olise, 7.3
H. Kane, 7.8
The ratings were generated by Sofascore’s statistical engine.
Join The Conversation
Roundtablesports is Free to join! You can post your own thoughts, comment on articles, and start conversations with our Roundtable Writers.
Download the FREE Roundtable APP, and get even easier access to your favorite teams and news!