UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE SEMIFINALS 1ST LEG WRAP

Written by: Floyd Nkanyane

Vinicius Junior scored twice as Real Madrid came away with a draw in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final tie with Bayern Munich while It’s advantage Borussia Dortmund courtesy of a Niclas Füllkrug strike and some flawless defending from Mats Hummel’s.

Rivals Clash in Munich

Bayern Munich vs Real Madrid

Venue: Fußball Arena, Munich

Result: 2-2 Draw

In the first leg of their Champions League semi-final tie, Real Madrid secured a hard-fought 2-2 draw against Bayern Munich in Munich. Brazilian forward Vinicius Junior scored a brace, capitalizing on defensive errors from Bayern’s Kim Min-jae to give Real Madrid the lead on two occasions.

Harry Kane scored from the penalty spot for Bayern after Jamal Musiala was fouled by Lucas Vazquez. Leroy Sane also found the back of the net, striking a thunderous effort to cancel out Vinicius Junior’s opener. Despite controlling possession and creating numerous chances early on, Bayern found themselves trailing before mounting a second-half comeback to level the scores.

Kim Min-jae’s foul on Rodrygo in the 83^rd minute allowed Vinicius Junior to convert from the spot, ensuring Real Madrid secured an away draw and a crucial away goal advantage ahead of the second leg at the Bernabeu Stadium.

Key stats:

The Bavarians:

FC Bayern München are winless in their last eight games against Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League (D2 L6), conceding an average of 2.4 goals per game across these meetings (19 in total).

For Real:

When avoiding defeat away from home in the first leg of a knockout stage tie in the UEFA Champions League, Real Madrid have progressed on 18 of the previous 19 occasions – the only exception being against Ajax in the Round of 16 in 2018-19 (won 2-1 away, lost 4-1 at home).

Real Madrid have drawn four consecutive games for the first time in the European Cup/UEFA Champions League, but remain unbeaten in 11 games in the competition this term (W7 D4).

So What’s next for these two

Bayern visit Stuttgart on Saturday before Wednesday’s second leg with Madrid, who host Cadiz on the weekend in search of the LaLiga title.

The Wall of Dortmund

 Borussia Dortmund vs. Paris Saint-Germain

Venue: Signal Iduna Park, Dortmund

Result: 1-0 Win for Borussia Dortmund

In the other semi-final first leg clash, Borussia Dortmund recorded a 1-0 victory over Paris Saint-Germain courtesy of Niclas Fullkrug’s sensational first-half strike. Despite PSG hitting both posts and creating numerous chances, Dortmund’s resolute defending, led by Mats Hummels’ man-of-the-match performance, secured a narrow advantage.

PSG will be confident of overturning the deficit in the second leg in Paris, but Dortmund’s defensive resilience and ability to defend their lead will be crucial in their bid to reach the final.

Key Stats:

For Dortmund:

Borussia Dortmund take a 1-0 lead into the second leg, but after going within a whisker of turning the game around on numerous occasions, PSG will be confident that they can do just that next week.

Borussia Dortmund have won back-to-back games in the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League for the first time since the 2012-13 quarter-final/semi-final, when they would eventually lose in the final to Bayern Munich.

And for Paris:

Paris Saint-Germain have progressed from two of their last four UEFA Champions League knockout ties when losing the first leg, with the first of those coming against Borussia Dortmund in the 2019-20 round of 16 (1-2 away, 2-0 home).

The battle resumes on Tuesday in Paris as Kylian Mbappe and Co. will look to overturn this one goal deficit just like they did with Barcelona while Edin Terzic will demand the same level of intensity from his defenders.

The second leg matches for both ties are scheduled for next week, with Real Madrid hosting Bayern Munich on Wednesday, while Borussia Dortmund travel to Paris to face PSG on Tuesday.