It was far from vintage, but Real Madrid did what they had to do at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday night. Los Blancos can always be trusted to get the job done no matter what in the big games, and their Champions League semi-final first leg against Bayern Munich was no different.
The home side weren’t at their best either, but they took the lead through Joshua Kimmich in the first half after another Keylor Navas mistake. They went from strength to strength until Marcelo equalised out of nothing just before the break, then disaster struck on the hour mark when Marco Asensio turned the game on its head.
Here are four talking points from an intriguing evening between two European heavyweights.
Marcelo and Marco Asensio turn the game on its head despite lacklustre Real Madrid display
He did in against Paris Saint-Germain in the last 16, he did it again in Turin against Juventus in the quarter-finals and, sure enough, Marcelo was there to score an away goal for the visitors tonight. This one was perhaps the most crucial of them all, too, and not just because it is getting to crunch time in the competition.
Bayern had taken the lead and, with it, the momentum; the Brazilian fullback, who has embodied the attitude and spirit of his club better than anyone over the past 12 years, played his part in the build-up to Kimmich’s opener with a poor turnover. He didn’t chase back with intensity and the goal came from the area he was supposed to be defending.
The home side missed chances to open a lead; when playing Real Madrid, more than any team in the world, that is a dangerous game, because they can hurt anyone in a flash, and so it proved. Completely against the run of play and with just minutes to half time, where changes were being planned, Marcelo struck a half-volley from the edge of the area that gave Sven Ulreich no chance in the Bayern goal.
Asensio, a half- time substitution made to help give Real a foothold in the game, couldn’t believe his luck when he intercepted a terrible pass by Bayern’s stand-in left back Rafinha in his own half. He was off in the blink of an eye, slotting home after a quick one-two with Lucas Vazquez. Bayern huffed and puffed from then on, but they were kept at arm’s length by Real, who head back to the Santiago Bernabeu with an unlikely advantage.
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Another mistake could cost Keylor Navas his long-term Real future
Officials at both Manchester United and Chelsea will not have sat comfortably watching Real’s near collapse against Juventus in the quarter finals, and any nerves they have ahead of the summer will have been magnified further. David de Gea and Thibaut Courtois have long been reported targets for Los Blancos, and Navas’ error in the 3-1 defeat against Juve, a score that still saw them through on aggregate, cannot have done his case for being number one next season much good. The last thing Navas, and his manager Zinedine Zidane, needed was more scrutiny, but that will be hard to avoid after Kimmich’s strike in the first half.
James Rodriguez, on a two-year loan deal at Bayern from the reigning European champions, was always looking forward whenever he got the ball, and he picked the perfect pass to release Kimmich down the right-hand side on the counter-attack. Navas, it can be assumed, was expecting the cross, and failed to set himself but, seeing too far ahead of the play to pick anybody out, Kimmich went for goal and beat the visiting goalkeeper at his near post.
The error began to unsettle the defence and possession was uncharacteristically sloppy in the midfield; Navas is a popular figure and he made big saves from Robert Lewandowski and Thomas Müller later in the game, but his time in Madrid may be coming to an end.
Bayern’s injury problems mount ahead of the return leg next week
Jupp Heynckes was facing a dilemma with his team selection before the game; a hefty chunk of his team was unavailable through injury and the depth of his squad was already being tested. David Alaba, the Austrian lleft-back has been out for some time and was again replaced by one of the heroes from their meeting with Sevilla in the last eight, and villain tonight, Rafinha. Manuel Neuer has returned to training after a knee problem but there was still no sign of him, meaning Ulreich continued in goal. Kingsley Coman and Arturo Vidal were also absent, allowing Franck Ribery and Rodriguez to start.
The 72-year-old’s issues didn’t stop there, either. Just eight minutes into the game, Arjen Robben was forced off and replaced by Thiago Alcantara and Heynckes had to make an early tactical reshuffle. It got even worse before half time, too, when Jerome Boateng’s evening was cut short. Talented young Germany defender Niklas Süle, signed from Hoffenheim in the summer, came on and, while they have high hopes for him in Munich, his manager would have been loathed to throw him into the tie in those circumstances. Süle may be forced into a baptism of fire at the Bernabeu next week, too.
It was not Cristiano Ronaldo’s night but that said it all
Other than a stunning finish from the edge of the box that was ruled out correctly for handball, and a shot that went out for a throw in, Cristiano Ronaldo hardly touched the ball all evening. In fact, all of Zidane’s big hitters failed to come to the party; Sergio Ramos, returning to the side after a suspension, did shore up the defence, but former Bayern man Toni Kroos and Luka Modric couldn’t influence proceedings from midfield, while Isco was hooked at half time for Asensio.
For all of Bayern’s early positivity, though, they faded badly when it mattered most. This tie was billed as Ronaldo vs Lewandowski, but the Pole, who cut a frustrated figure in the last round, was nowhere to be seen until the very end, but a shot wide with moments to go summed up his night perfectly. Nothing is done yet, but Real Madrid were dogged, professional and, most importantly, got the job done.
