At the end of a match with twists and turns, with a penalty on each side, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid separated back to back, with a draw (2-2) in the semi-final first leg of the Champions League on Tuesday . 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 greatest clubs in the history of European football. The 75,000 spectators at the Allianz Arena went through a real roller coaster ride for this classic of European football classics between Real’s 14 European champion titles on one side and Bayern Munich’s 6 on the other.
First the enthusiasm of a start to the match dominated by Bayern and the opportunities from Leroy Sané (1st minute) or Harry Kane (5th). Then by disillusionment when Madrid’s Brazilian striker Vinicius opened the scoring, served by a luminous pass from Toni Kroos, symbol of the realism characteristic of Real in the premier competition of European football. Munich supporters then experienced four minutes of pure euphoria in the second half between the 53rd and 57th minutes. In percussion and thanks to the call of Joshua Kimmich, Leroy Sané was able to enter the penalty area and deceive Madrid’s Ukrainian goalkeeper Andryi Lunin with a powerful right-footed strike. Sané’s equalizer was immediately followed by a penalty in favor of Munich caused by Jamal Musiala following a foul by Lucas Vazquez.
Inevitable Harry Kane
And who else than Harry Kane to put Bayern in front and shake the Madrid house, undefeated in a match over 90 minutes since September 24 and a setback against Atlético Madrid in the Spanish Liga (Atlético also eliminated Real in the quarterfinals of the Spanish Cup, but after extra time)? Arriving in the summer of 2023 at a high price, Kane justifies week after week Bayern’s investment of more than 100 million euros to snatch him from Tottenham and make him the replacement on the pitch and in the hearts of the supporters of Bayern from Polish goal machine Robert Lewandowski.
As usual, the captain of the English selection converted the penalty to score his eighth goal in the Champions League, joining Kylian Mbappé at the top of the scorers’ rankings, his 43rd this season, adding the 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. Launched into the penalty area, Rodrygo was hooked by Kim. Vinicius was quick to score his double and keep Madrid’s hopes intact before the second round in eight days at Santiago Bernabeu.
The Munich residents only have the Champions League left to save a 2023/24 season marked by the loss of the German championship title, for the first time since 2013, to Bayer Leverkusen, and elimination in the round of 16 of the German Cup on the lawn of Saarbrücken, a modest resident of the 3rd division. They will be forced into a major feat next week, 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 ensure the coronation on Saturday, before hosting Bayern, in the event of a victory against Cadiz and a poor performance by Barça in Girona, 3rd in La Liga.