Collins Ndlovu:
Munich: despite playing away from home, the defending champions Real Madrid showed courage and character when they took on Bayern Munich on Wednesday night for the UEFA first-leg semi-final at Allianz Arena.
The home team suffered an early set back when forward Robben was substituted early on the match due to an injury he sustained after a tackle and also defender Boateng forced to be taken out of the game due to a similar challenge.
This gaps by Robben and Boateng open up opportunities for Real Madrid to capitalize and dominate the home site which was found wanting in many aspects as they lost possession of the ball so easily.
The Bayern side scored first through Joshua Kimmich when slotted the ball past the Madrid goalkeeper Navas at the near post.
Marcelo responded for Madrid by smashing home a half-volley from the edge of the penalty area to level matters before Asensio capitalized on an error by Rafinha to score a breakaway goal.
The German champions missed a host of chances in an error-strewn encounter, while Real forward Cristiano Ronaldo had a goal ruled out for handball as his run of scoring in every game of this year competition ended.
Bayern must now score at least twice at the Bernabeu next Tuesday to prevent Real Madrid from reaching the fourth final in five years.
Real Madrid has become specialists at progressing through the European knockouts rounds in recent seasons, and this win was a perfect example of their ability to grind out results.
