Cristiano Ronaldo overturned Arturo Vidal’s
header as Real Madrid won 2-1 at Bayern
Munich, who had Javi Martinez sent off.
A second-half double from Cristiano Ronaldo
secured a 2-1 win for Real Madrid against
Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena and a firm
advantage in their Champions League quarter-
final tie.
The Portugal captain struck two minutes after
the break to cancel out Arturo Vidal’s bullet
header before poking home a second to give the
holders a strong result to take back to the
Santiago Bernabeu for the return fixture.
Bayern had been good value for their lead but
Vidal’s missed penalty allowed Madrid to get
back into the match, before a red card for Javi
Martinez left the Bundesliga leaders facing a
battle to ensure they stayed in the tie.
The first half belonged to the home side and
Vidal in particular, the midfielder scoring with
one emphatic header, missing a clear chance
for a second and blazing a controversial spot-
kick over the crossbar.
Madrid responded through Ronaldo’s first goal
in the tournament since September 27 and
Martinez’s two quick-fire yellow cards gave
them a foothold they never looked likely to
relinquish, before Ronaldo’s second 13 minutes
from time sealed the win – his 100th goal in
European competition.
100 – @Cristiano is the first player to
reach 100 goals in European
competitions (including #UCL , qualifying
and European Supercup). Monster
9:31 PM – 12 Apr 2017
235 152
OptaJose
@OptaJose
The tie is far from over for Carlo Ancelotti’s side
but the advantage rests with Zinedine Zidane,
the man who won the competition as assistant
to Ancelotti in 2014 before his triumph at the
Madrid helm last year.
Madrid came closest to breaking the deadlock
in a balanced opening 20 minutes, Karim
Benzema seeing a downward header clawed
onto the underside of the crossbar and out by
Manuel Neuer, back in the side after missing
the last three matches with injury.
Bayern, though without the injured Robert
Lewandowski, turned up the attacking pressure
and a succession of corners eventually paid
dividends. Vidal raced through the crowded box
to meet Thiago Alcantara’s delivery and the
Chile international powered a header high into
the net, despite Keylor Navas getting hands to
the ball.
The home side sought to cement their control
and Vidal spurned a great chance to make it
2-0, heading high and wide from 12 yards out
after Arjen Robben got free of Toni Kroos by
charging for the byline rather than cutting inside
from the left.
Vidal was then given the chance to cap a
superb first half from the penalty spot but he
blazed his effort over the crossbar, although
Madrid will certainly feel that justice had been
done after the assistant behind the goal had
incorrectly ruled that Dani Carvajal had blocked
a Franck Ribery effort with his arm.
Zidane had to jog to reach the dugout in time for
the second half after delivering a lengthy team
talk, and he did not have to wait long to watch
his side restore parity. Luka Modric found
Carvajal in space down the right, and his cross
was expertly swept into the bottom-left corner
by Ronaldo, who was allowed to meet the ball
unchallenged near the penalty spot.
659 – Cristiano Ronaldo has ended his
run of 659 minutes without a Champions
League goal #UCL . Relief
9:08 PM – 12 Apr 2017
93 116
OptaJose
@OptaJose
Bayern appeared not to learn their lesson and
Neuer was forced into a superb one-handed
save to keep out a header from Gareth Bale,
who was allowed to latch onto Modric’s driven
cross from much the same position that
Ronaldo had scored.
With the away goal secured, Madrid looked
content to hit Bayern on the counter-attack, and
the tactical tweak brought them a further
advantage as Martinez picked up two yellow
cards in the space of three minutes for fouling
Ronaldo as he looked to break into the hosts’
half.
Neuer was again required to keep the scores
level, sticking out a leg to deny Benzema’s
prodded effort after Carvajal had fed the striker,
before a strong right arm stopped a firm
Ronaldo strike from 12 yards.
But Ronaldo got the better of Germany’s number
one for the second time in the 77th minute,
racing to meet Marco Asensio’s curling cross
from the left and prodding the ball through
Neuer’s legs and into the net.
Madrid thought they had snatched a potentially
vital third goal when Sergio Ramos steered in a
header in the 90th minute, but the assistant
referee spared Bayern after correctly spotting
that the visiting captain was offside.
