A bout between two of Europe’s genuine heavyweights in a Champions League semi-final was never likely to disappoint – and so it proved.
Bayern Munich and Real Madrid played out an enthralling first leg in Bavaria, with the teams locked at 2-2 thanks to Vincius Junior’s late penalty ahead of next week’s second leg in Spain.
Our experts analyse the talking points.
How do Real Madrid do it?
This was another European knockout tie that appeared to be teetering on the brink of disaster for Real Madrid, before they delivered another improbable comeback.
When Bayern’s quickfire brace of second-half goals had swung this game in their favour, Madrid had to take stock. For a while it seemed that 2-1 was not such a bad result, ahead of the second leg at the Bernabeu.
Ancelotti’s tactical switch to 4-3-3 helped provide more cover especially for stand-in right-back Lucas Vazquez was suffering badly against an inspired Jamal Musiala, and also gave his team another chance to take a breath.
The element of phoney war ended when Madrid went for a last push, with substitutes Luka Modric and Brahim Diaz adding energy and ideas. Vinicius’ flick to Rodrygo then tempted Kim Min-jae into a foolish penalty concession, and the former again showed his big game mentality to convert from the spot.
Ancelotti’s changes worked, and as so often in recent years Madrid had rode out the storm and found a way to turn things to their advantage. At 2-2, with the return at a fired-up Bernabeu, Los Blancos will be confident of making yet another Champions League final.
But neither of these teams are perfect, and both have mixed spurts of real power with dodgy moments through the competition this season. It really is all set up tantalisingly for the second leg on Wednesday.
Dermot Corrigan
How did Sane wreak havoc?
Leroy Sane was a doubt for tonight’s game due to a pubic bone injury, and when the German international was named in the starting line-up, the anticipation was that he would be on the right flank — as he has been for the majority of the season.
However, injuries elsewhere meant that Thomas Tuchel shuffled the pack slightly, placing Sane on the left and Jamal Musiala on the right, with Thomas Muller playing alongside Harry Kane in a 4-2-2-2.
For long periods of the first half, the plan looked effective. Sane was put through in a one-vs-one within the first minute, and was regularly looking to stretch the Madrid back line with runs to receive first-time on his natural left foot.
Sane and Musiala would frequently roll inside into the respective half spaces and leave Bayern’s full-backs to keep the width. In the second half, as Bayern switched more to a 4-2-3-1, Sane assumed his typical position on the right flank, and restored parity within 10 minutes.
A driving run, drop of the shoulder and a thundered finish at the near post reignited the clash — his first since October 28.
Leroy Sane fires in Bayern’s equaliser (Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)
It was a superb performance, and a reminder of Sane’s versatility to play on either flank on the biggest European stage.
Mark Carey
Is Kroos a Ballon d’Or contender?
Madrid were really struggling a quarter of an hour into the game as Bayern had six shots while no visiting player had come anywhere close to a chance.
Toni Kroos decided something had to be done, first with a super aggressive challenge on his old teammate Thomas Muller, which was more about showing an example to his teammates than actually winning the ball back.
Kroos then began to get on the ball, move it around, giving his teammates time and space to regain their composure. Then came his phenomenal assist for the opening goal, splitting the Bayern defence open completely, giving Vinicius the chance to finish first time.
Toni Kroos sees Vinicius Jr starting to make his run…
… and angles a pass between the two Bayern players in front of him
… leaving Vinicius Jr free to break clear
… and score with ease (TNT Sport)
Replays showed how he conceived the goal in his head in advance, pointing with his finger for Vinicius to run behind Bayern’s out of position centre-back Kim Min-jae, then delaying the pass to allow the Brazilian to sprint into the space before perfectly timing and weighting the assist.
From being under the cosh due to Bayern’s fast start, Madrid were suddenly in full control of the tie. Confidence flowed through the visiting players, while belief seemed to ebb from the home side. Few individual performances have had such an effect on such a huge game.
Kroos completed all 36 of the passes he played in the first 30 minutes, making it a pretty special return to his old club, who must so rue letting him leave for Madrid on a cut-price €25m deal back in 2014. A decade later, the 34-year-old is out of contract in June, but will surely renew with Madrid.
He has also recently returned to Germany in time for the Euros in his home country. Many more performances like this – he also saw a curling shot saved in the second half – and he’ll be a leading Ballon D’Or candidate. And a hugely deserving one.
Dermot Corrigan
How was Kane subdued… but still a scorer?
For a minute there, early on, it looked like tonight might be all about Harry Kane.
Just seconds into the match, Bayern ran a simple little pattern down the left-hand side that ended with Kane pulling toward the ball and redirecting it into the channel to put Leroy Sane in on goal. It was a perfect illustration of his gifts as not only Europe’s leading goal-scorer but also perhaps its most creative striker.
A few minutes later, Kane did it again, this time from deeper: he received the ball in midfield and played another perfectly weighted through-ball that Sane couldn’t quite figure out how to turn into a goal. Kane’s constant movement posed a problem for Real Madrid’s right centre-back, Antonio Rudiger: how far could he track the dropping striker without letting Sane slip behind him?
Yet for most of the rest of the match Kane went strangely quiet. Lucas Vazquez stayed deep as Madrid’s right-back to help Rudiger in the Kane-Sane dilemma, and Kane started drifting into other channels to look for service. When he finally got through on goal himself, in the 66th minute, Rudiger was there to knock him down with a powerful and well-timed shoulder.
In the end Kane turned out to be almost a non-factor, managing no shots from open play and not much creativity after those opening minutes. Chalk up another victory for Rudiger, who had shut down Erling Haaland in the previous round.
But when Jamal Musiala went down for a penalty in the second half, it was Kane who stepped up to the spot, broadcast his chosen side with a deliberate glance that made Andre Lunin second-guess himself, and rolled a simple shot home for Bayern’s first goal of the tie. Even when Kane stumbles — as he did on his way to celebrate the penalty — he’s still the surest thing in Europe.
John Muller
Harry Kane slams home his penalty (Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)
Should Ancelotti send for Courtois?
Andriy Lunin has made some unexpected leaps forward since Madrid’s No 1 goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois sustained anterior cruciate ligament damage in training in August.
He first overcame the challenge of Kepa Arrizabalaga to become first choice, and was then a hero of the penalty shoot-out win over Manchester City in the quarter-final.
However Lunin has not always looked like a top-class keeper. He was caught out by Bernardo Silva’s long-range free-kick in the first leg against City, and suffered when targeted with inswinging corners by Barcelona in the recent Clasico.
It might be harsh to blame the Ukrainian for Sane’s goal, given both Ferland Mendy and Rodrygo Goes should have got closer, the shot was unexpected, and it was hit with superb power and precision. But there is a rule that keepers should not be beaten at their near post, and it was a huge moment in the tie.
Thibaut Courtois was a welcome presence on the Real bench (Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
Courtois had a setback in mid-March but has been back training with the team for a few weeks. Ancelotti has already said that he will start Saturday’s La Liga game at home to Cadiz at the Bernabeu, a 90-minute test to see how his knee has recovered.
All going well, there will be a heavy temptation to bring Courtois back in for next Wednesday’s second leg against Bayern, given how important the Belgian has been for Madrid in the Champions League in the past.
Dermot Corrigan
How did Bayern’s defence leave Vinicius Junior that open for Real Madrid’s first-half goal?
The most obvious culprit was Kim Min-Jae, who bit too hard on a double move and left an ocean of space behind him. When Vinicius Junior abruptly switched gears and sprinted for goal, Kim just didn’t have the wheels to catch up.
Speaking of a lack of speed, it didn’t help Kim’s cause that his centre-back partner was Eric Dier, who had wandered too far from goal to keep an eye Jude Bellingham and made only a half-hearted, plodding recovery run to try to cover for Kim when he saw that he was beaten.
Nor was Manuel Neuer particularly quick off his line to block the shot, but these sorts of things happen when you’re 38 years old and still starting Champions League semi-finals.
The real mystery is how, with so many players lacking pace at the back, Bayern allowed Toni Kroos enough time in possession to not only pick his pass behind their back line, but to point out to Vinicius where to go and then wait for the run to materialise. What happened to a team that used to have one of Europe’s fiercest high presses?
Bayern were oddly passive here, allowing Real Madrid to complete 90 per cent of their passes in the first half at the Allianz, and when you give Kroos and Vinicius an inch they’ll take a mile.
Sadly for Kim, his suffering did not end there. He was caught out by another swift Real Madrid passing exchange in the second half, only for Neuer to save well from Vinicius’ shot, but had no safety net when he hauled down Rodrygo for a penalty in the 83rd minute. A night to forget.
John Muller
UK readers can view Real Madrid’s first goal here:
Vinicius Junior opens the scoring at the Allianz 💥
THAT pass from Toni Kroos… 😮💨#UCL pic.twitter.com/BrU3FlQq4b
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) April 30, 2024
US readers can view Real’s first goal here:
VINI JR. WITH MADRID’S FIRST SHOT ON GOAL 💥
That ball from Toni Kroos 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/3vXSk0vM8Z
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) April 30, 2024
What did Tuchel and Ancelotti say?
We will bring you this after they have spoken at the post-match press conference.
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(Top photo: James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images)
