Madrid, April 8
Bayern sealed their first win against Real Madrid in ten attempts to claim a first-leg success in their Champions League quarter-final opener at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.
Luis Diaz handed Bayern the lead late in the first half of a heavyweight clash that lived up to its billing. Harry Kane added a second after half-time, with Kylian Mbappe pulling one back for Real with 15 minutes to go.
Bayern started with Manuel Neuer in goal, backed by a defence of Josip Stanisic, Dayot Upamecano, Jonathan Tah, and Konrad Laimer.
In midfield, Joshua Kimmich and Aleksandar Pavlovic held the centre, supporting Michael Olise, Serge Gnabry, and Diaz, while Kane led the attack.
Midway through the second half, Alphonso Davies and Jamal Musiala came on for Laimer and Gnabry, with Leon Goretzka and Tom Bischof replacing Pavlovic and Diaz during added time.
Bayern started brightly, with Laimer shooting over the bar, Olise's free-kick deflected behind, and Gnabry miscuing an overhead effort. Kimmich's precise cross soon found the unmarked Upamecano in the box, but the centre-back couldn't convert. The momentum then shifted, with Neuer making key saves from Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior.
Gnabry intercepted a pass in the box but saw his shot drift wide, while Neuer again denied Mbappe with a fine stop. Bayern finally broke the deadlock just before half-time, as Gnabry's pass released Diaz, who calmly slotted the ball home.
Munich quickly doubled their lead after the restart when Pavlovic won the ball in midfield and set up Olise, who laid it off for Kane to curl it into the net.
Olise later saw a shot saved, while Real came close to a reply when Upamecano misjudged a header, leaving Vinicius Junior one-on-one with Neuer, but he was forced wide and struck the side netting.
Olise fired over the bar, Diaz's effort was blocked, and Neuer made another crucial save to deny Mbappe, who then shot wide minutes later.
Real did pull one back when Alexander-Arnold's low cross found Mbappe, who scored via Neuer's fingertips. Kane put just wide on the spin, but the Spaniards pushed for an equaliser, and Neuer saved from Brahim Diaz and Vinicius Junior.
Both Musiala and Mbappe put promising chances wide as Bayern claimed a first victory over Real since 2012 and first at the Bernabeu since 2001 as they take an advantage back to Munich.
- ANI
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