In another exciting Champions League showdown on Tuesday evening, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid played out a thrilling 2-2 draw at Allianz.
Seeing Brazilian star Vinicius Junior open the scoring midway through the first half as the 23-year-old coolly slotted past Manuel Neuer, Los Blancos appeared to be in pole position to secure a crucial semi-final advantage on foreign soil to back up.
But even though Carlo Ancelotti’s side were ahead, the German giants managed a stunningly quick turnaround in front of emotional Allianz support.
As former Manchester City star Leroy Sane catapulted the ball into the net after a thunderous strike, it was then up to Harry Kane to take center stage as the England captain converted from the penalty spot just four minutes after Sane’s equaliser.
Although Bayern dominated for long stretches, Thomas Tuchel’s men failed to extend their lead and they will rue a missed opportunity on Tuesday evening.
When South Korean defender Kim Min-jae fell behind and brought down Rodrygo late on, Vinicius took the opportunity to pull Los Blancos over the line and grabbed his second goal of the night with seven minutes left.
With a place in this season’s Champions League final still hanging in the balance, we’ve taken a look at the key talking points.
Vinicius drags Madrid across the finish line
En route to this year’s La Liga title and continuing to receive much praise, Real Madrid have their sights firmly set on securing a famous two-win season in 2024.
While record-breaking Jew Bellingham has grabbed most of Los Blancos’ headlines since his blockbuster move from Borussia Dortmund last summer, Ancelotti’s attacking talisman has enjoyed his own goalscoring run.
Vinicius Junior scored on both sides at half-time to earn Madrid a crucial first-leg draw on Tuesday night. Here Vinicius Junior delivered another performance as “Man of the Match”.
The Brazilian superstar has caused a lot of problems for Bayern’s faltering defense in the Allianz, scoring 21 goals in all competitions and continuing to shine on the European stage.
With five goals in the Champions League this season and only four players in this year’s tournament to have scored more goals than the 23-year-old, Vinicius will certainly play a leading role when Madrid punch their ticket to Wembley next week.
Kane deserves a first piece of silver
With Bayern Munich officially relinquishing the Bundesliga title this season, Kane would have felt his chances of finally claiming their first title were over for another year.
Although many may have been surprised last summer when the German giants splashed out £100m on the England captain, Kane has made a record-breaking start to life at Allianz.
The former Tottenham talisman has once again cemented his place as one of Europe’s top goalscorers, scoring 43 goals in as many appearances in all competitions this season.
The 30-year-old calmly converted from the penalty spot on Tuesday evening, has also scored eight Champions League goals and has moved level with PSG icon Kylian Mbappe in the race for this year’s European Golden Shoe.
With Bayern now putting all their eggs in this season’s Champions League basket, few will be more desperate than Kane to get over the finish line and claim a seventh European title.
A place at Wembley Stadium is at stake
After Real Madrid knocked out defending champions Manchester City following their famous penalty shootout victory on foreign soil on April 17, this season’s title appears to be at stake.
Seeing the two European icons finally settle for a dramatic draw in the first leg here, both teams will still fancy their chances of a ticket to Wembley.
With all eyes on the Bernabeu next week, there is no doubt that both of Tuesday’s semi-finalists will be keeping a close eye on how things unfold in rural Germany tomorrow night.
While Bayern may have been disappointed at missing out on a chance to take a first-leg lead at Allianz, Borussia Dortmund will look to go one step further when they host French heavyweights PSG at Signal Iduna Park.
With a total of 20 goals scored in the last five Champions League showdowns between Bayern and Los Blancos, we could be in for another thriller next Wednesday in Madrid.
Match report
Bayern Munich: Neuer, Kimmich, Kim, Dier, Mazraoui, Laimer, Goretzka, Musiala, Muller, Sane, Kane
Subs: Gnabry, Davies, Guerreiro
Real Madrid: Lunin, Vazquez, Ruddier, Nacho, Mendy, Kroos, Tchouameni, Valverde, Rodrygo, Bellingham, Vinicius Junior
Subs: Joselu, Diaz, Camavinga, Modric
Goals: Bayern Munich: Sane (53′), Kane (57′ P) – Real Madrid: Vinicius Junior (24′, 83′ P)
Yellow cards: Bayern Munich: Kim, Mazraoui – Real Madrid: Kroos, Vazquez
Red cards: N/A
Referee: Clement Turpin