A late penalty from Vinicius Junior secured Real Madrid a 2-2 draw at FC Bayern Munich in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final.
The Brazilian opened the scoring with the only goal of the first half, but was forced into late action after Leroy Sane and Harry Kane turned the game around shortly after the restart.
The draw means both teams will travel to the Santiago Bernabeu next Wednesday to fight for a place in the Champions League final.
How the game developed
Sane was on target in the opening seconds when his shot made a quick save from Andriy Lunin, who also had to keep out a snap shot from Harry Kane as Bayern got off to a strong start.
Sane and Jamal Musiala both hit over the bar but, in typical fashion against the run of play, Madrid grabbed the lead after 24 minutes. A through pass from Toni Kroos sent Vinicius behind the Bayern defense and the Brazilian made no mistake in a one-on-one with Manuel Neuer.
That was Madrid’s only shot before a late Rodrygo free-kick was deflected wide. Bayern still posed the biggest goal threat, but they no longer asked many questions of Lunin’s defense, which was increasingly comfortable sitting back and frustrating their hosts.
Kroos fired a shot at Neuer’s goal early in the second half, requiring a strong hand from the Bayern stopper, and it proved to be a crucial moment as Bayern went down at the other end and equalized.
Sane, who had endured a difficult first half, fired a powerful strike into Lunin’s bottom corner that flew off his foot like a rocket.
Two minutes later, Bayern had a chance to take the lead when Jamal Musiala was brought down by Lucas Vazquez and Kane stepped up to roll the ball into the net.
Eric Dier had the chance to score the third from a corner just after the hour before Neuer had to fend off a strike from Vinicius as Madrid desperately tried to get back into the game.
With nine minutes left, Madrid were awarded a penalty of their own when Rodrygo was dragged to the ground by Kim and Vinicius made no mistake in equalizing late on and setting up a fascinating second leg.
GK: Manuel Neuer – 6/10 – The new guy from earlier would probably have come out to stop Vinicius’ push towards goal, but not many goalkeepers would have been able to beat the Brazilian for speed.
RB: Joshua Kimmich – 6/10 – I didn’t do much wrong, but it definitely doesn’t have that big of an impact on the game at this position.
CB: Kim Min-jae – 4/10 – When Vinicius scored the opening goal, he was pushed out of position and at times struggled to keep up with the Brazil international. Dragged Rodrygo to the ground for the penalty.
CB: Eric Dier – 6/10 – Likewise, perhaps a better opening decision could have been made, but otherwise it was largely solid.
LB: Noussair Mazraoui – 6/10 – Didn’t offer enough going forward, but came into his own in the second half when Bayern preferred to concentrate on defense.
DM: Konrad Laimer – 8/10 – Really impressive at the base of Bayern’s midfield. Pressed with enormous energy and usually emerged victorious.
DM: Leon Goretzka – 5/10 – Not strong enough in possession of the ball. Bayern needed more creativity from him.
RM: Jamal Musiala – 7/10 – He struggled for space in the first half but showed impressive footwork to win the penalty.
AM: Thomas Müller – 6/10 – Tried to find space but Madrid’s deep defense made it difficult for him to get involved.
LM: Leroy Sane – 7/10 – A sloppy first half, but an absolute monster finish that equalized after the break.
ST: Harry Kane – 7/10 – He dropped deep to get into the game and was a real problem for Madrid’s defense. Coped with his penalty well.
Substitute
Substitute: Raphael Guerreiro (46th minute for Goretzka) – 7/10
Substitute player: Serge Gnabry (80th minute for Müller) – not available
Substitute: Alphonso Davies (87th minute for Sane) – not available
Substitutes not used: Daniel Peretz (TW), Sven Ulreich (TW), Dayot Upamecano, Aleksandar Pavlovic, Bryan Zaragoza, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, Mathys Tel.
Manager
Thomas Tuchel – 8/10 – Bayern were the better team in the first half and were finally rewarded after the break with a smart decision to change wingers. Disappointment from a handful of sloppy decisions from his players.
TW: Andriy Lunin – 5/10 – Will be frustrated that he was beaten at his near post and Sane equalized.
RB: Lucas Vazquez – 4/10 – Sane slipped behind him a little too often early on and Vazquez’s night got even worse when he brought down Musiala for the penalty shootout.
CB: Antonio Rüdiger – 5/10 – Had a pretty solid game when it came to his one-on-one battle with Kane, but couldn’t calm Bayern’s barrage early in the second half.
CB: Nacho Fernandez – 5/10 – He tried something new by moving into midfield at times, but often ended up distracted from the position.
LB: Ferland Mendy – 5/10 – Defended well against Musiala in the first half, but ran into Sane after the break and couldn’t cope with his speed.
DM: Aurelien Tchouameni – 6/10 – After Bayern’s second goal, he went back into defense to bring some calm to the team.
DM: Toni Kroos – 7/10 – A sensational pass that tears Bayern to shreds at the start. Struggled with pace in the second half but still had some nice moments with the ball.
RM: Federico Valverde – 5/10 – He enjoyed defending in the first half, but when Madrid fell behind he found it difficult to adapt to the attacking side of the game.
AM: Jude Bellingham – 5/10 – Bayern smothered Bellingham whenever he approached the penalty area. With 15 minutes to go, Ancelotti clearly felt Madrid had a better chance of winning without him.
LM: Rodrygo – 5/10 – He buzzed around without ever seeming to cause significant problems for Bayern’s full-backs before winning the penalty.
ST: Vinicius Junior – 8/10 – He took his two goals well in a performance largely marked by struggles to actually find space on the pitch. He had to be patient and was rewarded.
Substitute
SUB: Eduardo Camavinga (65′ for Nacho) – 6/1
SUB: Luka Modric (76′ for Bellingham) – 7/10
SUB: Brahim Diaz (76′ for Kroos) – 6/10
Substitute: Joselu (87th minute for Rodrygo) – not available
Substitutes not used: Kepa Arrizabalaga (TW), Thibaut Courtois (TW), Fran Garcia, Eder Militao, Arda Guler and Dani Ceballos.
Manager
Carlo Ancelotti – 5/10 – Tried to rely on Madrid’s aura in the first half but looked completely nervous as Bayern took their game to the next level.