Real Madrid came from behind to beat 10-man Bayern Munich 2-1 in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday night.
Arturo Vidal sent Bayern ahead in the 25th minute of the contest, but the Chilean missed a penalty on the stroke of the interval, before Cristiano Ronaldo's double in the second period turned the last-eight tie around.
Ronaldo's brace in Germany moved him onto 100 European club goals, and has placed Los Blancos in a commanding position ahead of the return match at the Bernabeu next week.
The big team news in the Bayern camp was the absence of leading scorer Robert Lewandowski, who failed to make the squad after picking up a shoulder injury against Borussia Dortmund at the weekend.
Thomas Muller was Lewandowski's replacement in the final third, while Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery also started for a team that were missing key centre-back Mats Hummels due to an ankle problem.
As for Real Madrid, injuries to Pepe and Raphael Varane meant that Nacho started alongside Sergio Ramos in central defence, but there were no surprises further forward as Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and Ronaldo were all selected.
As expected, it was Bayern that dominated the possession in the early exchanges, with the German side forcing three corners in the opening five minutes as they put pressure on the Real Madrid backline.
The visitors had the chance to cause Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer concern in the 16th minute when Ronaldo stood over a free kick some 30 yards from goal, but the number seven's effort missed the post.
Two minutes later, Los Blancos came mightily close to making the breakthrough when Benzema met a super cross from Toni Kroos, but the Frenchman saw his downward header hit the crossbar, and Neuer was on hand to pick up the pieces.
David Alaba looked to bend one into the far corner in the 23rd minute as Bayern started to click once again, although the Austrian's effort was always moving wide of Keylor Navas's post.
Bayern made the breakthrough two minutes later, however, when Chilean midfielder Vidal rose highest inside the Real Madrid box to head a Thiago corner past Navas, who stood no chance.
Vidal had a golden chance to double his tally for the night in the 41st minute when Robben skipped past the challenge of Kroos before picking out the head of the Chilean with a wonderful cross, but his effort was over Navas's crossbar.
Real Madrid had two opportunities to level the scores late in the first period through Ronaldo and Kroos, but the former saw his powerful effort saved by Neuer, before the latter curled wide of the post from inside the Bayern box.
Bayern were then awarded a penalty in the 45th minute when Dani Carvajal was penalised for handling a Ribery strike inside the Real Madrid box, but Vidal could only send his spot kick over the crossbar as it remained 1-0 following an enthralling first period of action in Munich.
Real Madrid started the second period on the front foot, however, and the reigning champions levelled the scores in the 47th minute when Ronaldo turned home a bouncing Carvajal cross to register his 99th European club goal, and his first Champions League strike for six matches.
Los Blancos were purring after the equaliser and when Bale found Ronaldo inside the Bayern box, there was more danger for the home side, but the Portuguese's first touch was uncharacteristically heavy, which allowed Javi Martinez to clear.
A thumping Bale header looked to be sending Real Madrid 2-1 ahead in the 56th minute, but Neuer made a quite outstanding point-blank save to ensure that the scores remained level during an end-to-end period of the contest.
Marco Asensio replaced Bale in the 59th minute as Zinedine Zidane looked to his bench for the first time, and the game swung in Real Madrid's favour less than two minutes later when Martinez picked up his second yellow card for a late challenge on Ronaldo, leaving Bayern with 10 men for the final 30 minutes.
Douglas Costa and Juan Bernat were both introduced for the home side as head coach Carlo Ancelotti looked to contain a confident Real Madrid, but the visitors remained on the front foot approaching the final 20 minutes of action.
Benzema had a super chance to send Los Blancos ahead in the 72nd minute after meeting a cross from Asensio, but the Frenchman missed the target from close range, before the striker was denied by a point-blank Neuer save moments later.
Ronaldo was next to test Neuer with a powerful effort from inside the six-yard box, and the German international was up to the task once again as he produced another remarkable stop to keep the first leg level.
The goal was always coming, however, and Real Madrid finally scored their second of the night in the 77th minute when Ronaldo turned a brilliant Asensio cross past Neuer from close range to register his 100th European club goal.
Benzema thought that he had scored the away side's third in the 83rd minute when he found the back of the net from close range, but the offside flag was raised as Bayern survived another dangerous moment.
The offside flag again came to Bayern's rescue in second-half stoppage time when it prevented Ramos from scoring Real Madrid's third, and it finished 2-1 on the night to place the Spanish giants as the firm favourites ahead of the return at the Bernabeu next week.
No Data Analysis info
