A clinical performance by Real Madrid saw Los Blancos beat Bayern Munich 2-1 in their Champions League semi-final first leg at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday evening, writes DEAN WORKMAN.

Bayern started the game the better of the two sides and created their first chance after just 20 seconds. A Robert Lewandowski cross was met by Thomas Muller, but the German couldn’t sort his feet out in time.

The German side were on the front foot, forcing Madrid to defend for the opening 20 minutes.

Then, just as the Spanish side looked to have found their feet, Bayern took the lead. Joshua Kimmich was set down the right-hand side by James Rodriguez, the defender took a touch and unleashed a venomous strike which caught out Keylor Navas at his front post. A poor piece of goalkeeping by Navas, who was trying to anticipate the cross, made it 1-0 to the home side with 28 minutes played.

Jupp Heynckes’ team continued to push forward, but both Franck Ribery and Lewandowski failed to take advantage of their opportunities.

It looked as though Bayern would take a lead into half-time but on 44 minutes, Zinedine Zidane’s team hit back. The ball came out to Marcelo on the edge of the Bayern box and the Brazilian produced a spectacular half-volley into the bottom corner.

After dominating for large parts of the opening stanza, Bayern went into half-time level, with Madrid having scored that vital away goal.

The home side continued to press forward in the second half and came close to regaining the lead, but Muller could not apply a touch to Ribery’s driven cross.

Calamity then struck for Bayern as a defensive error gave Madrid the lead. A poor ball from Rafinha was picked up by Lucas Vazquez. He drove forward, pulling the defender with him before sending Marco Asensio through on goal. The Spaniard made no mistake with the finish, 2-1 to Madrid with 57 minutes on the clock.

Heynckes’ team searched for an equaliser but Los Blancos were happy to sit back and look to strike on the counterattack.

The final score was 2-1 after a clinical performance by Real. Bayern, however, will be disappointed after missing a number of good chances throughout the game.

Photo: Ronald Wittek/Backpagepix