Bayern Munich assaults the Bernabéu

BarcelonaAfter losing in Mallorca (2-1) on Saturday and practically saying goodbye to La Liga with Barça seven points behind with eight matchdays left in the championship, Bayern Munich deepened the wound by storming the Santiago Bernabéu (1-2) in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals. Luis Díaz, in the 41st minute, and Harry Kane, right at the start of the second half, were the goalscorers for the team managed by Vincent Kompany, who failed to seize the opportunity and let a team relying on the inspiration of Kylian Mbappé, scorer of the white goal, leave alive.

The first chance fell to Bayern, who had already missed two clear opportunities before taking the lead. The first, very early on. When it was just past the 10th minute, Upamecano, with Lunin out of position, headed over the crossbar a ball that seemed harder to send wide than into the back of the net. The other would come around the half-hour mark, when Thiago Pitarch received a difficult pass from his goalkeeper in the box and returned it, but sent it directly to Gnabry's feet, who was denied by a crucial save from Lunin. The Bavarian superiority would eventually be rewarded with Luis Díaz's goal just before halftime, after a good through ball from Gnabry.

Bayern would strike again just after passing through the tunnel, with Pavlovic stealing a dangerous ball from Carreras, passing it to Olise - one of Bayern's best - who in turn set up Harry Kane to punish Bernabéu with a good shot from the edge of the box. It was the moment to smell blood and leave Madrid reeling, but the Bavarians showed their human side, dropped a gear, and allowed their opponent to grow. Led by Mbappé, the whites closed the gap after a great assist from Trent to the Frenchman at the far post, aided by a lapse in concentration from the Bavarian defense.

With the score at 1-2 and 15 minutes remaining, Bayern saw the wolf's ears and their legs started to tremble, while Madrid, spurred on by a Bernabéu that swapped whistles for cheers, began to threaten Neuer's goal, who denied the whites an equalizer with crucial saves. With Álvaro Arbeloa's men pushing forward, the Germans had counter-attacking opportunities, but they also felt the fatigue and were not sharp enough to take a bigger haul.