Photo Credit: UEFA
It was an eventful night in Munich as Real Madrid travelled to Germany to face off against Bayern Munich in the first leg of the semi-finals. Two sides, the home side craving their first silverware of the season and the visitors seeking further glory.
The ambience was lively as the match kicked of two hours to midnight. Both were seeking to gain advantage over the other. It was both a physical and mental battle as this was not the first time these two rivals came together.
Los Meringues struck first in the 24th minute as German midfielder Toni Kroos picked out his teammate Vinicius Jr. The individual quickly slipped passed his markers and netted the ball home in the bottom right corner. The slate opened and the standard set. Bayern Munich left with a task in their hands.
At the 45th minute there was only the one goal separating them and the crowd could be seen becoming uneasy. The second half however came with new surprises. Eight minutes after the restart, Leroy Sane managed to unleash a blistering shot into the bottom right corner that left everyone surprised at his sheer confidence. He managed to bring Bayern Munich back level. This brought about wave after wave of attacks from the Bayern Munich players.
One of them yielded fruit as the dodgy Jamal Musiala managed to win a penalty. He didn’t even try hiding his happiness as he thrust his arms up and down in happiness after being awarded the penalty. Harry Kane managed to convert the score to two from the spot by nestling the ball in the bottom left corner. Bayern Munich 2, Real Madrid 1. Ancelloti’s boys had work to do.
Veteran Luka Modric managed to pick out Vinicius Jr again from a beautiful outside the foot pass leaving him one on one with the goalkeeper but it was saved. Boos were heard from the fans after the save as some sort of banter. In the 83rd minute Brazilian attacker Rodrygo managed to win a penalty after being tripped up by a defender, Kim Min Jae. Vinicius Jr made his performance a brace by converting from the spot.
He celebrated by putting his finger to his ear showing the fans that he can’t hear their boos anymore and pointing to his jersey as a personal statement of his quality. Ninety minutes plus three added of extra time, the teams level, kind of saying, whatever you can do, I can do as well. With nothing to separate them, the decider on who proceeds to the final will be held in Madrid, at the Santiago Bernabeu on the eighth of May.
