More reaction and analysis
Thanks for reading this MBM. Jonathan Liew’s report is below. Hope to see you again tomorrow evening when Borussia Dortmund take on PSG in the other semi. Nighty night!
Carlo Ancelotti speaks to TNT. “It was an interesting open game … we could play better … we didn’t play our best match … we had problems with a low block … we didn’t put intensity there … the second half, we started well but conceded two goals when our moment was good … we had the energy and character to equalise … Bellingham was tired and had cramp … Vinicius has learned to come inside and not stay on the line … it will be exciting and open … you never know what will happen.”
Harry Kane talks to TNT Sports. “It’s a little disappointing … once we got 2-1 ahead we had two or three good chances, especially from set plays … this is Champions League semi-final … Real Madrid are one of the best teams in Europe for sure and they can punish you with one or two actions … it’s all to plauy for next week … if we play like we did in large parts today we’ll have chances next week … we just have to be able to take them … their [first] goal came against the run of play … they built up momentum and we struggled to play our game … in the second half we had higher intensity and deserved to get our two goals … we dust ourselves down … a tough match but we look forward to next week … we can take a lot from this game.”
Kane’s also asked what Jude Bellingham whispered in his ear just before he took his penalty. He smiles and replies in a good humour. “To be honest I don’t know what he was saying … I saw him mumbling something … I’d have to ask him what he actually said … once I’m in that moment I’m in my zone, trying to block everything out … I’m sure he was saying something to try to put me off!”
Does the Champions League determine whether his move to Bayern is a success or not? “I don’t think so … I’m here for many years … it’s not just a one-off year that I’ve come for … of course the expectation was to win trophies and it hasn’t gone our way … but if we can somehow get our hands on [the Champions League] it would be an amazing season.”
Hopefully we’ll hear from someone in Munich soon. But no matter if not, because Jonathan Liew’s verdict has landed. Here it is!
Harry Kane embraces his old Spurs mucker Luka Modric. The Bayern striker looks a little deflated, but not distraught. He and Bayern would have surely taken this result during the early exchanges of the second half, when they looked bereft of ideas. But suddenly the hosts burst into life with two goals in short order, and a precious first-leg lead looked on the cards until Kim Min-jae clumsily conceded a penalty in the closing stages. Bayern don’t have a good record at the Bernabeu, so Real will be favourites to progress to the final, but on tonight’s evidence you can make a case for both teams. Looking forward to next week’s second leg already? Yes, us too.
FULL TIME: Bayern Munich 2-2 Real Madrid
The whistle goes at the end of a highly entertaining semi-final of ebb and flow. The second leg at the Bernabeu next week promises to be a cracker!
90 min +3: Kane goes barrelling down the right and reaches the byline before crossing to nobody. Tchouameni very nearly clipped Kane there. Any contact and Kane would surely have been purchasing a cheap penalty.
90 min +1: Lucas Vázquez is booked for a preposterous comic-book tug from behind on the in-flight Davies’s collar.
90 min: Vinicius Junior sends Mendy romping into space down the left. Mendy cuts back from the byline in the hope of finding Joselu, who clatters Kim and the whistle goes. There will be three additional minutes … but probably more because Kim needs treatment.
88 min: Brahim Díaz tears down the right wing at full tilt. He enters the box and prepares to shoot … only to be denied by Mazraoui’s perfectly timed tackle! Mazraoui had to get that right, because otherwise it was another penalty and, already on a booking, he’d be off.
87 min: Joselu comes on for Rodrygo, whose work is done. Sané meanwhile makes way for Davies.
85 min: That was a clumsy mistake by Kim … and possibly a very costly one. Bayern immediately attempt to restore their precious lead, Gnabry dribbling past Mendy on the right and shaping to shoot, before cutting back and eventually attempting from a much more difficult position. He larrups harmlessly over.
GOAL! Bayern Munich 2-2 Real Madrid (Vinícius Júnior 83)
Vinícius Júnior, like Kane before him, stutters and the keeper goes first. Vinícius Júnior carefully sidefoots down the middle, into the space vacated by the goalie. Real draw level!
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Penalty for Real Madrid!
82 min: Kim is spun again, as Vinicius Junior passes to Rodrygo down the inside-left channel. Rodrygo drops a shoulder and turns, only to be grabbed and dragged down by Kim. The referee points to the spot, then books the stand-in central defender.
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80 min: Gnabry comes on for Muller.
79 min: … or maybe not. Modric’s second contribution is to wedge a delicate pass down the inside-left channel that allows Vinicius Junior to skin Kim. Vinicius Junior is one on one with Neuer, albeit facing a tight angle. He shoots straight at the keeper, who stays big. Nothing comes of the resulting corner.
78 min: Bayern set about drawing a little bit of sting from the game. Some methodical passing around the back. A fair chance that both managers would settle for 2-1 right now, and take their chances next week.
76 min: The free kick is lumped towards the Bayern mixer but cleared. Then Modric makes his first contribution of the evening, kicking Sané, and the pressure on Bayern is released.
75 min: Kroos’s free kick fails to beat the front man and Bayern clear. But Real come back at the hosts, Kane clipping Kroos on the left wing. Before that free kick can be taken, Kroos and the disappointing Bellingham are replaced by Modric and Brahim Diaz.
74 min: Vinícius Júnior jinks cutely down the left and wins a free kick by nipping inside Laimer. Kroos to take a free kick just by the side of the box.
73 min: Valverde makes a royal nuisance of himself just inside the Bayern box. He tries to chisel out a shooting opportunity but is swarmed before he can take a pop.
71 min: Kim competes for Kimmich’s corner from the left. Lunin punches out for a corner on the right. Kimmich trots over to take that one, too. He hits it long. Dier wins another header, which only just evades Muller on the edge of the six-yard box. Had that dropped more kindly, Muller would surely have put that away.
70 min: Musiala bursts down the left and wins a corner. Bayern are getting a lot of joy down this flank. Lucas Vázquez being given the runaround.
69 min: Bayern are first to everything again. Real can’t keep hold of the ball. The home fans are up.
67 min: Kimmich’s corner from the right is met soundly and squarely by Dier, who from six yards powers a header straight at Lunin. Either side and that was surely a goal. Real are teetering on the edge here.
66 min: Mazraoui drives down the left and crosses low for Kane, on the left-hand edge of the six-yard box. Kane spins and scuffs a shot across goal. It deflects off Rudiger and inches wide of the right-hand post. Lunin rooted to the spot. Bayern so close to a third!
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65 min: Real make their first change. Nacho is hooked, and the captain’s not happy about it. But he’s got to make way for Camavinga. Kroos takes receipt of the armband.
64 min: Tchouameni snaffles the ball and suddenly Real are two on two. Vinicius Junior shoots twice, but on both occasions a combination of Mazraoui and Laimer block. Kane tries to counter but is clipped in-flight by Kroos, who goes into the book.
62 min: Rodrygo dribbles at warp speed down the right, making toast of Mazraoui and Dier. What lovely footwork. Not enough to win a corner, but Real needed a response and that’s the first one since that quick-fire double whammy.
60 min: What a stunning turnaround! Bayern looked utterly devoid of inspiration and ideas before that Sané strike. Now they’re first to everything, and Kane chases after a long Muller pass down the inside right. Kane enters the box but takes a careless touch, allowing Rudiger to come across and gently shoulder him to the floor. Kane wants a penalty but it’s a fair challenge and the ref quite rightly isn’t interested. Real clear their lines.
58 min: That’s a 29th Champions League goal for Harry Kane. It’s his 43rd goal for Bayern. Already!
GOAL! Bayern Munich 2-1 Real Madrid (Kane 57 pen)
Kane stutters, Lunin blinks first and dives. Kane rolls the penalty into the bottom left, cool as ice, and what a turnaround!
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Penalty for Bayern!
56 min: Musiala dribbles into the Real box from the left. Lucas Vázquez dangles out a leg and clumsily clips him. Over he goes, and the referee points to the spot! Kane prepares to take. Bellingham has a word in his ear. And then …
55 min: That came out of absolutely nothing, and credit to Laimer, who burst down the inside-left channel from deep before switching the play to Sané on the right. A fine pass and assist. But should Lunin have saved it? Possibly, but the shot was so fierce.
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GOAL! Bayern Munich 1-1 Real Madrid (Sané 53)
Just as well Bayern kept Sané warm! He picks up possession out on the right touchline and chops infield past Mendy and into the box. He rasps a fierce shot towards the bottom right. Lunin can’t stop it sneaking in, so hard is the shot. Bayern level!
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51 min: Vinicius Junior spins into space down the middle and bustles his way upfield. He feeds Bellingham, who shuttles the ball across to Kroos, storming into the Bayern box. Kroos opens his body and aims a curler for the top right. Neuer sticks out a strong arm to block. Bayern clear their lines. What a fine goal that would have been.
50 min: Lucas Vázquez and Bellingham combine at high speed down the right. Lucas Vázquez enters the box and attempts a second one-two but Laimer intercepts to put a stop to Real’s caper.
48 min: Real spend the opening moments of the second half hogging the ball. So much for Bayern flying out of the blocks again.
47 min: Leroy Sané remained on the pitch for the duration of the half-time break, keeping warm. He’s got a pelvic injury which becomes problematic when he cools down. Let’s see if he can make it to the end.
Real get the second half underway. Bayern have made a change, sending on Raphaël Guerreiro in place of Leon Goretzka.
Half-time postbag. “Tuchel, reportedly, doesn’t have much faith in the defensive prowess of Kimmich and Kim Min-jae, and he may have a point. I felt bad for Eric Dier, as he tried frantically to alert the right side of his defence to the intergalactic swathe of space that they’d left for Vinicius to run into” – Kári Tulinius
“Once again, a team create plenty of chances against Real Madrid and fail to take them. Sané being the guiltiest party. And then get soundly punished by Real’s clinical finishing. You simply can’t hope to beat them and be profligate” – Colum Fordham
“Harry smashed it wide, and Real was inches from a pen. What a disaster that would have been for Bayern. Lucky boys” – Mary Waltz
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HALF TIME: Bayern Munich 0-1 Real Madrid
Kroos and Valverde attempt a short corner routine. It’s no good, and after 40 additional first-half seconds, the referee blows for half-time. Bayern started fast but spluttered out of gas soon enough, while Real quietly and efficiently moved through the gears and deservedly lead at the break.
45 min: Rodrygo hammers a rising free kick that clips off the top of Kane’s head and out for a corner. Kane brave in the wall there. Kroos sends the corner in long from the right. Rodrygo tries to beat Laimer on the opposite flank but settles for another corner. Kroos ambles across to take that one.
44 min: Bellingham’s been quiet, but he suddenly pops up, chasing Valverde’s long pass down the inside-right channel. Mazraoui comes across and cynically clips his ankle just outside the box. Into the book he goes. This is a free kick in a very dangerous position.
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42 min: Kane takes a couple of steps and absolutely wellies an effort past the left-hand post. Always wide, and Lunin had it covered, but my, he hit that.
41 min: A lot of pre-kick planning. Kane at the centre of the chat.
40 min: Rodrygo drives down the left and attempts a one-two with Bellingham, who miscontrols. Bellingham has been quiet so far. Give him time. Bayern counter through Musiala, who has been Bayern’s most dangerous attacker up to this point. He dribbles down the inside-right channel before drawing a clumsy foul from Nacho. A free kick in a very dangerous position, just outside the D.
38 min: Kimmich hits the corner long. The whistle goes for some shoving. Bayern still haven’t put Lunin to serious work, that Sane chance on 40 seconds apart.
37 min: Bayern get the ball back and get patient. A lot of sideways passing and not much in the way of speed. They need to pick it up. Mazraoui takes matters into his own hands and suddenly sprints down the left to earn a corner.
35 min: Vinicius Junior win a corner down the left. Kroos takes. Neuer punches confidently clear from the middle of a packed penalty area.
34 min: A surge of noise from the home crowd as they attempt to restart their team. Bayern’s fast pace of the early exchanges absent now.
32 min: Real stroke it around the middle of the park again. Slow and sure. Happy to let the clock tick on. Bayern don’t commit to the press, and it’s a bit of a stand-off. On the touchline, Thomas Tuchel rails at his low-energy players.
30 min: Vinicius Junior tries to sprint past Kim down the right but the big defender isn’t having any of it. He holds his line impressively. Bayern counter, and Musiala dribbles into a little space down the right. But he can neither find Kane in the middle, nor work enough space for a meaningful shot. Real eventually clear their lines.
28 min: Bayern have responded well to going behind, in so much as they don’t look rattled and are stroking it around in their usual imperious style. But the chance creation isn’t happening any more.
26 min: Muller, playing in the pocket, wedges down the middle in the hope of releasing Sane into the Real box. Sane goes over, and wants a penalty, but he’s not getting one. Lucas Vázquez had gently nudged him off balance, but nothing that deserved the award of a spot kick.
25 min: … and after all of that early Bayern pressure as well! Yep, Real Madrid are the masters of the European rope-a-dope.
GOAL! Bayern Munich 0-1 Real Madrid (Vinícius Júnior 24)
Suddenly Real pounce! Kroos ambles in from the right, before playing a defence-splitter down the middle. Vinícius Júnior is clear! He opens his body and slots past a flailing Neuer and into the bottom-right corner. Easy as that!
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23 min: Real are slowly working their way into the game. Their first period of prolonged possession.
21 min: Real finally show in attack, Lucas Vázquez winning a corner down the right. They play it short, then Vinicius Junior shanks a weird shot-cum-cross high into the stand behind the goal. A few of his team-mates give him the what-for.
19 min: Kane attempts to release Sane down the middle but Rudiger spots the danger and saunters across to intercept. The aforementioned Kaiser would have been impressed with that display of insouciant defensive authority.
18 min: Mazraoui jigs elegantly down the left touchline, only to be unceremoniously stopped by Lucas Vázquez. No free kick, though he wanted and probably deserved one.
16 min: Musiala has another go, dragging a weak effort wide left from distance. Real surely can’t keep on giving up chances, because at some point a Bayern player will connect with his shot properly.
14 min: Bayern continue to stroke it around, probing hither and yon. They’re all over Real … but the visitors are holding their shape, and despite Bayern enjoying 64 percent of possession so far, they’ve only forced Lunin into action once.
12 min: Muller dribbles down the right and cuts back for Musiala, who leans back and hoicks over. Real can’t get a touch.
11 min: This is all Bayern, who have started very well and are first to mostly everything. Real are, of course, past masters at soaking up pressure then striking out of nowhere.
9 min: Kane attempts to score from the halfway line, having spotted Lunin wandering around miles from his goal. It’s always heading over the bar, but full marks for ambition. Kane’s getting a taste for this sort of thing.
7 min: Real have started a little slowly. A couple of loose passes in the midfield and Goretzka is able to slip Sane into loads of space on the left. Sane thinks about looking for Kane or Musiala in the middle, but hesitates and the chance to cross is gone. So is the chance to shoot, just about, and in a panic he flays a wild effort over the bar.
6 min: Kimmich hits this one long. It’s half cleared. But then Sane feeds Kane down the right. Kane drops a shoulder and pings a shot straight at Lunin.
5 min: Musiala turns on the jets and earns a corner down the inside-right channel. Kimmich plays it short and back to Musiala, who attempts to return it down the channel. Kimmich wants to cross from the byline but settles for a second corner.
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4 min: Bellingham tries to switch play from right to left with a first-time speculative hoof. Rodrygo can’t latch onto the ball and Kimmich tidies up. A nice open start to this semi-final.
2 min: Real reply to that early concern with a period of nerve-settling possession. They ping it around and eventually Bellingham is caught offside.
41 sec: A huge chance for Bayern! Sane is released into the Real box down the inside-left channel by Kane. It’s a tight-ish angle, but Sane only has Lunin to beat. He hits his shot straight at the keeper. What a start that could have been!
“Let’s go boys!” Jude Bellingham shouts to his team-mates as he claps some encouragement before Bayern kick off.
The teams are out! Bayern play in their red and white, forcing Real into their dark-blue change strip. A fine couple-of-cold-steins-in atmosphere of anticipation at the Fußball Arena München, as Uefa insist we call the Allianz Arena. It glows red in the Bavarian night. A huge banner celebrating the late, great Kaiser Franz Beckenbauer. We’ll be off after a quick blast of Zadok the Priest (Version).
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Pre-match postbag. “I was never a Spurs fan but I was a huge Harry Kane fan. I was so happy for Kane when he left. Finally he would win League silverware with Bayern, he would escape all the Spurs management melodrama. So of course, Bayern loses the Bundesliga crown, and management melodrama erupts. So I am hoping Kane can drive Bayern to a Champions league title, good ol’ Harry deserves it” – Mary Waltz
“Initially, I was quite conflicted on this match-up. I don’t like either team, but one of them has to go through. So what do I do? After a good hard think about it (OK, maybe five minutes), I’ve come to a conclusion. As much as I would enjoy Harry Kane not winning anything this season, I can never forgive that Sergio Ramos armlock which dislocated Salah’s shoulder, or his subsequent elbow that concussed Karius in the 2018 Final. Ramos is gone, but he’s got a suitably dirty replacement in Dani Carvajal. I know it is naive and unlikely, but I want Real Madrid to never win anything ever again. Am I still bitter? Maybe” – Joe Pearson
“To your point that this is an old-styley European Cup semifinal: it has been said that the upstart result of the much lamented Cup Winners’ Cup in 1983 prompted the elite clubs of Europe to lobby Uefa successfully to start the so-called Champions League in the first place. Of course, as you know, in that year the cup winners of the Cup Winners’ Cup defeated both Bayern and Real. In a parallel universe, 41 years on, the winner of tonight’s tie will face Aberdeen. Ach well. What went wrong? With Aberdeen? And with fitba in general?” – Donald Phillips
“‘It’s on’ in Spanish would be better translated as ‘Está en marcha’” – Jorge Oróstica
“‘Ist Zustand’ is nonsense. You want something like ‘Jetzt geht’s los!’” – Eric Schwab
“Dear Google Translate, you are sacked” – The Guardian
Bayern and Real have played each other 26 times before, every single fixture coming in the European Cup. Fourteen of those matches have been at the semi-final stage, so this is a summit meeting between royalty, all right. Bayern have four aggregate semi-final victories to Real’s three, but the Spaniards have won the last two ties. The most recent meeting was the 2017-18 semi, when Madrid won 4-3 on aggregate. Bayern’s record at home against Real is W9 D1 L3 F26 A18.
Bayern Munich make three changes to the team that started last Saturday’s 2-1 Bundesliga win over Eintracht Frankfurt. Leroy Sané, Jamal Musiala and Minjae Kim take the places of Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting and Raphaël Guerreiro, who drop to the bench, and the injured Matthijs de Ligt. Harry Kane leads the line.
Real Madrid made wholesale changes to their side for last Friday’s 1-0 La Liga win at Real Sociedad, to the extent that only two of their starters in that match keep their place. Aurélien Tchouameni and captain Nacho are the lucky men. Thibaut Courtois, a long-term absentee after rupturing his ACL last August, returns and is on the bench. Jude Bellingham faces his England colleagues Kane and Eric Dier.
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The teams
Bayern Munich: Neuer, Kimmich, Kim, Dier, Mazraoui, Laimer, Goretzka, Sane, Muller, Musiala, Kane.
Subs: Upamecano, Gnabry, Choupo-Moting, Zaragoza, Peretz, Davies, Guerreiro, Ulreich, Tel, Pavlovic.
Real Madrid: Lunin, Lucas, Rudiger, Nacho, Mendy, Valverde, Tchouameni, Kroos, Bellingham, Rodrygo, Vinicius Junior.
Subs: Courtois, Eder Militao, Modric, Camavinga, Joselu, Ceballos, Garcia, Diaz, Guler, Arrizabalaga.
Referee: Clement Turpin (France)
Preamble
Welcome to our coverage of Arsenal v Manchester City Bayern Munich v Real Madrid. Shame, shame, shame on the Premier League, though with genuine apologies to fans of the aforementioned English clubs, who are free to demur … this sounds more like an old-school European Cup semi-final, doesn’t it? Hey, we don’t write the rules. Kick-off is at 8pm BST. Ist Zustand! ¡Esta encendido! It’s on!
