Cristiano Ronaldo scored a brace, as Real Madrid end Bayern Munich home unbeaten run in the Champions League, with a 2-1 win at the Allianz Arena.
It all looked like Bayern Munich will end up victorious at the end of the game as the showed great zeal at the start but Real Madrid didn’t travel to the Arena to joke.
Los Blancos came from behind to seal an advantageous away win thanks to no one else but Cristiano Ronaldo’s double after Arturo Vidal’s header gave the visitors an initial scare.
Vidal scored a smashing header; the only goal for the home side through a Thiago Alcantara corner. The Chilean could have doubled the lead after the referee awarded a controversial penalty in favor of Bayern Munich but the midfielder couldn’t keep his calm and bottled the Spot kick. Dani Carvajal was the victim here as the ball was wrongly judged to have hit his arm.
Real Madrid came close to getting a goal through Benzema’s header but a brilliant Manuel Neuer tipped the ball which hit the crossbar and out of the field of play.
Los Blancos dominated the second half of the game. Three minutes into the second half, they were rewarded with Madrid’s first goal of the night courtesy of Cristiano Ronaldo who was assisted by the magnificent Carvajal.It was the Portuguese first goal in the competition since September 27.
More damages could have been done during the second 45minutes of the game as Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo had a clear chance on goal but Neuer unsurprisingly made some world class saves to deny the Forwards.
Javi Martinez was given his marching orders after receiving his second yellow card of the match for a foul on Ronaldo. This posed more problem for Ancelotti’s side and the pressure kept on coming.
Bayern Munich couldn’t stand the pressure anymore and they were dealt a blow; Asensio, the man who replaced Gareth Bale on the night whips a cross in and Ronaldo gets a foot to it which made it the second goal for the Forward and his 100th goal in European competition. Manuel Neuer who was phenomenal through the match could have done better to stop the Portuguese as the ball rolled under his legs into the net.
Ancelotti’s men could have faced a tough task in the return leg should Ramos goal in the 92nd minutes stood but the linesman was correct in his verdict of ruling the defender offside.
Bayern Munich will look forward to turning things around when they visit Santiago Bernabeau next week.
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