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The Portuguese failed to add to his tally of 15 Champions League goals this season, being denied a second-half strike by an offside flag, which would have made it 3-1.
James Rodriguez, who is on a two-year loan deal from Real, shone in Bayern’s midfield and found plenty of cracks in the Madrid defence.
– Bayern hit by injuries –
However, this just was not Bayern’s night.
? First leg victory
?? @MarceloM12‘s performance
? Return leg
? InjuriesRead what Zidane said in his post-match press conference! ?https://t.co/a6nwOJO7fH
— Real Madrid C.F.???? (@realmadriden) April 25, 2018
Both Mueller and Robert Lewandowski went agonisingly close with a string of chances.
The hosts suffered a blow with barely five minutes gone when Arjen Robben limped off to be replaced by Thiago Alcantara.
Bayern changed their system with right-back Joshua Kimmich moving up to plug the space on the right wing, which sparked the opening goal.
When Bayern goalkeeper Sven Ulreich played the ball down the flank, James released Kimmich with a perfectly-timed pass in the 28th minute.
The Germany international raced clear and caught out Keylor Navas at his near post to stun Real.
Bayern suffered their second early injury blow when Jerome Boateng was replaced by Niklas Suele on 34 minutes — which is also bad news for Germany with the World Cup looming.
Real had a left-off when Ribery went one-on-one with Navas, but stumbled at the crucial moment.
Then from nothing, Marcelo conjured the equaliser on 44 minutes.
When Dani Carvajal headed the ball across the edge of the box, it landed at Marcelo’s feet and was in Bayern’s net moments later after a fierce left-footed shot.
⏸? Advantage #RealMadrid going into the second leg of the Champions League semi-final! Read the report and check out the best photos from Munich! ?https://t.co/F6JDOIpmQQ
— Real Madrid C.F.???? (@realmadriden) April 25, 2018
It was the Brazilian’s third Champions League goal this season after also scoring in the knock-out rounds against Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus.
Real escaped again when Navas failed to hold a Lewandowski header just before the half-time whistle and the ball bobbled away to safety.
It shows how far Bale and Benzema have dropped out of Zidane’s favour that Isco was replaced on the left wing by Asensio for the second half, but the move paid off.
Rafinha lost the ball in midfield after a Bayern attack, and Vazquez sprinted clear and put Asensio into space to curl past Ulreich on 57 minutes.
With 25 minutes left, Zidane threw on an extra attacker, as Benzema came on for injured right-back Carvajal.
Moments later Bayern came within inches of an equaliser when Navas denied Mueller with a reflex save.
In the final five minutes, Lewandowski beat Navas, but his floated shot flew just wide of the post to add to Bayern’s misery.
