The UEFA Champions League is back with the first leg of the quarterfinals. La Liga side Real Madrid hosted Bundesliga side FC Bayern Munich at the Estadio Bernabéu, Madrid.
These two teams are familiar opponents, having faced each other multiple times in the knockout stage. Both teams have similar win-loss records, with Real Madrid holding the edge just by one win.
The match kicked off and both teams had difficulty scoring. This comes as no surprise, as both are known for being defensive. Not long after, Bayern’s Serge Gnabry received the ball and set himself up as he found an open space in Real Madrid’s defense.
Gnabry sent it through the middle as Luis Díaz cut through and shot it to the bottom right corner. The goal gave Bayern a 1-0 lead heading into halftime. Real Madrid started the second half with possession, but a lapse in awareness left a Madrid player on the ground and the ball in Bayern Munich’s possession.
This gave Munich an advantage as the team went for a counterattack.
Michael Olise tried to find the space to progress to Madrid’s goal and found Harry Kane, setting the striker up. Kane stepped in, shot from outside the box and scored in the 47th minute, extending Munich’s lead to 2-0.
Real Madrid found themselves in a difficult position, down by two goals at home with the second leg still to play. This match has been fascinating to watch as Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer had been saving a lot of potential goals that most goalkeepers have difficulty blocking.
Many say he has ‘aged like fine wine.’ That won’t be the case for too long, as Bayern’s defense failed to prevent Real Madrid’s Trent Alexander-Arnold cross to Kylian Mbappé, where he put the ball in the net and made the score 2-1 at the 75th minute.
As time passed, the whistle blew at the 94th minute, ending the match 2-1 in favor of Bayern Munich.
At the end of the match, Neuer was named UEFA Player of the Match. They will face each other again on April 15 for the second leg, and that match will determine who will advance to the semifinals.
