A flurry of missed chances in the dying minutes of the Real Madrid v Bayern Munich match
Bayern Munich silenced the Santiago Bernabéu, having dominated the match from start to finish—save for the final 30 minutes—and came away with a deserved 2–1 victory, moving one step closer to the Champions League semi-finals.
Real Madrid, led by Álvaro Arbeloa, appeared completely unable to match Bayern Munich under Vincent Kompany for most of the match, and the Bavarian side could well have secured a comfortable victory ahead of the second leg.
The second leg between Bayern Munich and Real Madrid is scheduled to take place at the Allianz Arena next Wednesday, to determine who progresses to the Champions League semi-finals.
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Unrelenting pressure… and a string of mistakes
Contrary to expectations, Bayern Munich started the match with intense pressure, looking to score an early goal, whilst Real Madrid’s players appeared visibly flustered, making numerous errors in their own half, particularly the youngster Thiago Petarš.
The Bavarian side relied on the pace of wingers Luis Díaz and Michael Olise to break down the flanks and deliver crosses, and Bayern came close to scoring on more than one occasion, but failed to do so.
Real Madrid looked largely incapable of organising their ranks and moving out of their own half with ease, relying instead on counter-attacks to exploit the pace of Vinícius Júnior and Kylian Mbappé.
On the other hand, Bayern Munich looked as though they were playing at the Allianz Arena and squandered more than one clear-cut chance in the first 30 minutes.
Giving up before half-time
Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer and Real Madrid goalkeeper Andriy Lunin both shone in saving several dangerous chances during the first 45 minutes.
However, Real Madrid succumbed to the Bavarian pressure four minutes before the end of the first half, with Luis Díaz scoring the opening goal, capitalising on a superb pass from Serge Gnabry that put him through on goal.
Real Madrid were extremely fortunate to go into the break trailing by just a single goal, given Bayern’s dominance in possession, a barrage of attacks and Real Madrid’s clear lack of firepower in attack.
A flying start
Many expected Real Madrid to start the second half in a different vein and show their true colours, but the exact opposite happened, much to the surprise of the club’s fans.
Bayern Munich continued to press and dominate possession at the start of the second half, scoring their second goal through a fine strike from Harry Kane from outside the penalty area in the first minute of the second half.
Michael Olise was a whirlwind on the right flank, breaking through on more than one occasion and posing a major threat down the wing, with Carreras failing to stop him, despite having set up the second goal.
After the second goal, Bayern Munich did not sit back and continued to press, whilst Real Madrid’s players were at a loss, completely unable to find a way to stop the Bavarians’ attacks.
Read also: Video: Kane doubles Real’s woes and equals his record
A dominant half-hour… and Nouir shines
The game changed completely in the final half-hour, as Bayern Munich sat back to protect their two-goal lead, whilst Real Madrid launched attack after attack in a bid to get back into the game.
Real Madrid squandered more than one clear-cut chance, with Neuer in fine form, making numerous saves throughout the second half, which saw a marked increase in activity from the Royal side.
Vinícius Júnior and Kylian Mbappé were both wasteful in front of goal, until the French striker managed to reduce the deficit in the 74th minute; the veteran goalkeeper almost kept the ball out, but it crossed the line.
After the goal, Real Madrid pressed intensely, capitalising on the energy of substitutes Bellingham, Militão and Brahim Díaz, but failed to find an equaliser.
Counter-attacks… and missed chances
In the closing minutes, Bayern Munich exploited the vast spaces in Real Madrid’s defence and launched several counter-attacks, but the Bavarian players squandered them all due to carelessness and hasty finishing.
Bayern Munich came close to adding at least two more goals in the dying minutes to head into the second leg at the Allianz Arena with a comfortable lead, but they squandered the opportunity.
At the other end, Real Madrid’s players came close to equalising on more than one occasion, but Neuer’s brilliance and his repeated rushes off his line to snuff out attacks at their inception denied them an equaliser, at the very least.