Vinicius Junior on Tuesday scored twice for Real Madrid to draw 2-2 against Bayern Munich in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League semi-final.
Bayern dominated, but Madrid survived and the contest is still wide open ahead of the return leg in Madrid on Wednesday next week.
With the focus on England stars Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham, as well as Toni Kroos’ return to his former team, Vinicius emerged as the decisive figure on a night when his bright green boots were often a blur.
Photo: AFP
The Brazil forward opened the scoring against the run of play in the 24th minute and equalized with a coolly taken penalty in the 83rd minute after Leroy Sane and Kane had scored for Bayern.
“I think it’s a good result,” said Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti, who led Bayern to the Bundesliga title in 2017. “It gives us faith and confidence for the second leg. It’s completely open.”
Kane’s goal, another penalty, was the England forward’s 43rd goal in 43 games for Bayern this season.
Photo: EPA-EFE
“It felt like the goals were scored when the other team was better,” Kroos said. “We’re pretty sure that we’ll advance at home.”
Bayern had asked fans to wear red to the game and the visitors must have felt they were playing in a red cauldron as they were greeted by deafening whistles from the majority of the 75,000 people in the stadium.
Fans at Allianz Arena paid respect to deceased club great Franz Beckenbauer with a huge red-and-white choreography before kick-off.
Photo: AFP
A giant banner sent a message to the players as they were warming up: “To honor the Kaiser Franz, give everything to reach the final.”
The winners of the two-leg semi-final are to play either Borussia Dortmund or Paris Saint-Germain in the final in London on June 1.
“Real Madrid does this to teams, so we should not be too disappointed,” Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel said. “I think we will be able to create chances in the Bernabeu. This is one of the most difficult places to win, yes, but it’s a challenge. That’s the beauty of it.”
Photo: EPA-EFE
Bayern totally dominated the opening stages on Tuesday. Sane had an effort saved by Andriy Lunin in the first minute and the hosts went on to miss a slew of chances.
“We didn’t have enough intensity, especially in the first half,” Ancelotti said.
Nearly 20 minutes elapsed before Madrid enjoyed a period with the ball.
Then Kroos spotted Vinicius’ run and played a perfect through ball for the Brazilian to sweep the visitors’ first real chance past Manuel Neuer in the Bayern goal.
Bayern lost their early zest as the visitors saw more of the ball. Tuchel gesticulated wildly at his players to push forward, then threw his arms up in exasperation.
Kane went closest with a free-kick before the break, awarded for a foul by Nacho on Jamal Musiala, who gingerly rubbed his bandaged left leg.
The Germany forward had only just recovered from a knee issue.
Sane equalized in the 53rd minute when he ran at the Madrid defense and cut inside Ferland Mendy before firing a fierce strike just inside the near post.
Kane made it 2-1 four minutes later with a penalty awarded after Lucas Vazquez bundled over Musiala.
However, Kim Min-jae — who was beaten on Vinicius’ first goal — brought down Rodrygo for Vinicius to equalize from the spot.
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