Bayern Munich and Real Madrid played to a back-and-forth 2-2 draw on Tuesday, ensuring that the UEFA Champions League semi finals would begin on a thrilling note.
Thomas Tuchel's side started the match with a flurry of shots but it was Real Madrid who took the lead in the 24th minute, when Toni Kroos passed to Vinicius Junior for the visitors' first shot of the game.
Real Madrid entered the halftime break on top but went down 2-1 within the first 15 minutes of the second half, courtesy of two Bayern goals in a span of four minutes. Leroy Sane scored a highlight reel-worthy goal to level the score in the 54th minute and Lucas Vazquez conceded a penalty a few minutes later, which Harry Kane converted. Bayern's lead was relinquished in the 83rd minute when Kim Min-jae forced the referee to award a spotkick to Real Madrid, which Vinicius Junior converted.
The pair will duke it out for a spot in the final next Wednesday, when Real Madrid host Bayern at the Santiago Bernabeu. The winner will play either Paris Saint-Germain or Borussia Dortmund.
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83' Vinicius Junior hits his penalty down the middle, a perfect landing place after Neuer dives to his right. It's 2-2 in this tie with less than 10 minutes to go.
80' Almost half an hour after Bayern earned a decisive penalty, Real Madrid have one of their own after Kim fouled Rodrygo. Vinicius Junior is lining up to take it.
80' Gnabry comes on for Muller, playing his first game in three weeks after dealing with an injury. He has 10 minutes plus stoppage time to prove Tuchel's prediction true -- the manager said Gnabry would score in the first leg of this tie, though offered no explanation.
76' Bellingham and Kroos are done for the day, with Modric and Diaz coming on to offer Real Madrid some fresh legs and new options in attack as they chase a goal.
67' Bayern seem to have momentum on their side and are able to force a corner, from which Dier has a free header. Lunin makes the stop, but one might argue Dier could have done better to give Bayern a 3-1 lead.
65' Ancelotti opts to make a substitution in the back line, bringing on Camavinga for Nacho.
57' Bayern were down 1-0 just four minutes ago but now are up 2-1 thanks to a penalty from Kane, who can always be counted on from the spot. He's now scored a perfect seven from seven since joining Bayern at the start of the season and it's his eighth goal this season in the Champions League, bringing him level with Mbappe.
56' Musiala is fouled in the penalty area by Vazquez, and the referee quickly points to the spot. Kane lines up to take the spotkick that could change the course of this match.
53' Bayern are officially on the board, courtesy of Sane. He wins the ball on the right wing and is clinical as he makes his way into the penalty area, strikes the ball with power and his unstoppable shot ends up in the back of the net. It's Sane's first goal in six months and a big one at that -- it's officially 1-1 in this tie.
52' The first big chance of the second half comes from Kroos, whose curved shot from an angle is stopped by his Germany teammate Neuer. It's just the latest example of a stellar game so far from Kroos, who has dominated the midfield so far at the Allianz Arena -- his former home.
Bayern make one change at halftime -- Guerreiro comes on for Goretzka.
Bayern have the edge in possession with 51.9% of the ball, have eight shots to Real Madrid's three. The hosts have also put three of their shots on frame while Real Madrid have just one, and also lead on expected goals, 0.71 to 0.5. Yet, it's Real Madrid who are in charge with Vinicius Junior's strike after what was ultimately a wasteful first half from Bayern.
43' Kane is close to finding Bayern's equalizer with a freekick just yards away from the penalty area, but sends the ball just wide of the goal.
27' Things have been fairly calm since Vinicius Junior's goal, which has not totally sucked the life out of Bayern. In fact, the hosts have had the better of the chances since -- Goretzka took a shot a few minutes after the goal, while Bayern almost made something of a corner.
24' It took Real Madrid more than 20 minutes to take their first shot, but they sure made it count. Kroos plays a smart ball to Vinicius Junior, who gets the better of the Bayern defense to score the game's opening goal. Vinicius Junior has now scored in the Champions League semifinals for a third year in a row.
9' Bayern are finding ways to get ahold of the ball and make runs at goal, the latest an effort from Kane from distance. It was nearly an amazing moment -- Kane noticed Lunin was off his line and took the shot, forcing the goalkeeper into a panicky run back towards his goal. Lucky for Lunin, the ball sailed over the net.
6' It may still be early in this tie, but Bayern continue to search for the game's opening goal. The hosts nearly got one on a corner before Real Madrid's defense woke up, while Kane forced a stop out of Lunin and Sane had another chance that he sent over the bar.
1' Barely a minute into the match and Bayern have already showed some attacking intent, courtesy of Sane. He looked close to scoring but Lunin dealt with it near the goal line.
The game has officially kicked off in Munich, and the Champions League semifinals have officially begun. Let it be as entertaining as the quarterfinals were.
Today's match marks the 27th meeting between Bayern Munich and Real Madrid, making it the most frequently played match in Champions League history. The two have faced each other 24 times in the knockout stages and eight times in the semifinal alone, but it's not the only layer of familiarity at the Allianz Arena today. Bayern's Musiala and Madrid's Bellingham were teammates on England's U-15 team, a group that also included rising Chelsea star Cole Palmer and was captained by USMNT midfielder Yunus Musah.
Additionally, Bayern manager Thomas Tuchel has faced Real Madrid eight times and has lost just once. Recent form might be stacked against him, though -- Bayern have failed to win each of their last seven games against Real Madrid and his counterpart on the touchline today, Carlo Ancelotti, has never lost to a German side in the Champions League.
Though Kane was part of the Tottenham team that went to the Champions League final in 2019 and started that match against Liverpool, he missed both legs of their semifinal against Ajax with an injury. As a result, today officially marks the England captain's first appearance in the Champions League semifinals and it could be a very consequential one. Kane comes into the match as a singular bright spot during a rough season for Bayern, and so far has 42 goals in 42 games this season.
Much like he did against Manchester City, Carlo Ancelotti is letting his word class goalscorers lead the line today against Bayern by naming all three of Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo and Bellingham to the lineup.
Here's a look at Real Madrid's team for the first leg of the semifinals.
Real Madrid starting XI: Lunin, Vazquez, Rudiger, Nacho, Mendy, Valverde, Tchouameni, Kroos, Bellingham, Rodrygo, Vinicius Junior
Substitutes: Courtois, Arrizabalaga, Militao, Modric, Camavinga, Joselu, Ceballos, Garcia, Diaz, Guler
A big focus for Bayern today is their back line after a stretch of less-than-ideal performances all season long, and that remains the case as Tuchel makes a change at center back. Kim comes in for de Ligt, who missed training yesterday, and will line up alongside Dier. Further up the pitch, Muller cracks the lineup while Kane once again leads the line.
Here's a look at Bayern's team for today's first leg.
Bayern starting XI: Neuer, Kimmich, Kim, Dier, Mazraoui, Laimer, Goretzka, Sane, Muller, Musiala, Kane
Substitutes: Ulreich, Upemecano, Gnabry, Choupo-Moting, Zaragoza, Peretz, Davies, Guerreiro, Tel, Pavlovic
It has been a season full of ups and downs for Bayern to the point that Thomas Tuchel is officially on his way out after barely a year in the job. Things continue to go right for Bayern in the Champions League, though, and as Charlie Davies notes, Tuchel's managed to make some tactical shifts that could keep his side competitive against Real Madrid.
As the new favorites to win the Champions League, many will expect a statement-making performance from Los Blancos. It might not actually come, since Real Madrid have come into the semifinals with a batch of imperfect showings behind them. Their resilience, though, has been a key trait of their deep Champions League run and as James Benge argues, they just might be the best team left in the competition because of it.
The Champions League semifinals are finally here and will begin in style with a high-profile match between Bayern Munich and Real Madrid. Stick around for the buildup to the big game and then for updates once the match is officially underway.
