Bayern Munich 1 – 2 Real Madrid – UCL match recap

First Half

Bayern vs Real Madrid is the kind of blockbuster matchup between European giants which makes the Champions League a wonderful spectacle to behold, and this first half did not disappoint. Bayern opened strong, nearly getting a ball into the box for Mueller in the opening moment of the match, but the cross had just a bit too much juice on it. The game began to open up after that, with both teams pushing forward to create chances.

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Robben had to come off just nine minutes into the match, forcing Jupp Heynckes to replace him with Thiago Alcantara. Yet the inclusion of Thiago did little to hinder Bayern’s attack. Bayern had the lions share of possession and the better attacking opportunities in the first half.

For the first 25 minutes of the match, Madrid did well to contain the surging attacks from Munich. Modric looked in imperious form throughout the first half, joining with Vazquez and Ronaldo in pressing Bayern’s back line. Kroos also did well to provide defensive support for Marcelo on the left flank.  Vazquez seemed eager, but characteristically brash in defense. And Varane and Ramos intelligently covered for the inevitable gaps that resulted from Madrid’s ambitious full-back play.

Just as Real Madrid were enjoying their most dangerous spell of possession, creating opportunities on the break through Cristiano Ronaldo, they found themselves disintegrating in transition with Bayern free on the break. Marcelo was pushed forward chasing down a ball, Casemiro stepped up to try to intercept the pass, but it went through to Kimmich on the break. Kimmich cut in and put a shot straight onto Navas’ goal, but Navas failed to stand it up and found himself awkwardly watching the ball sail into the back of the net.

This initial goal totally destabilized Madrid. The organized defensive structure we witnessed in the first 20 minutes came completely unhinged, and Bayern nearly went ahead two or three more times. Ribery in particular fluffed a dangerous one-on-one opportunity with a heavy touch that put the ball straight into Navas arms. Madrid were under siege, and Bayern looked near certain to score another goal.

Heynckes was forced into making an extra first half substitution when Jerome Boateng went down with injury, and was subbed off for Niklas Sule. The Bayern coach was compelled into the awkward position of using 2/3rd of his subs in the first half.

What makes this Madrid side particularly dangerous is that even when they’re playing poorly, they can turn it around with a single moment of genius. That’s exactly what happened as Marcelo found himself on the end of a deflection which he smashed into the corner of the net in the 44th minute. With that, Real Madrid went into halftime level, after a first half where they were by far the second best team on the pitch.