Real Madrid 1-2 Bayern Munich: Mbappe 74; Diaz 41, Kane 46
Real Madrid may be faulted for a number of things after this defeat but not for failing to ask enough questions. Just how good is Manuel Neuer? At 40 years old, the insuperable goalkeeper retains a formidable presence in front of goal, here to tip this away, block that with his foot, make himself so big that the nervous attacker careens too far away from goal and strikes wide.
To Munich then? As Neuer kept Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius largely at bay here at the Bernabeu, the rest of the audaciously attacking Bayern Munich team did the rest to secure a 2-1 victory that leaves every bit to play for next week at the Allianz Arena.
Bayern had control, pushing high up the pitch to stifle Madrid, their full-backs penetrating even the hosts’ penalty area. Madrid struggled to build up play and as they tried to force the issue, playing out from the back, they conceded the ball on several occasions and were lucky not to get punished. The clearest opportunity was when Andriy Lunin and Dean Huijsen got caught and Serge Gnabry seized on the advantage, but his quick strike was deflected away off Lunin’s elbow and Madrid had reprieve.
Not that Madrid let it deter them. Anything Bayern threw at them they fought to throw back, hitting frequently on their trademark counter-attacking style, except that when they struck the ball, it also met Neuer’s mythical paws.
This g̶u̶y̶ GOAT 🐐 pic.twitter.com/YiEtXnzBne
— FC Bayern (@FCBayernEN) April 7, 2026
Bayern’s goal was a long time coming. With a few minutes left before half-time and the Madrid lungs burning from the relentless Bayern press, a loose back-pass from a frantic Vinicius ricocheted to Gnabry. The ball pinballed to Kane, then back to Gnabry, and then the enterprising Luis Diaz ghosted past Trent Alexander-Arnold on his blindside and slammed the ball beyond Lunin.
It happened in a flash. Blink twice and you’ll miss it. The sort of danger you see but it strikes before you can even scream. Perhaps that’s why Carreras was caught ball watching, the left-back keeping Diaz onside. Madrid’s pleas for either an offside or a foul by Michael Olise fell on deaf ears. The ball had only cannoned off the forward’s tucked-in elbow.
Things got worse for Madrid twenty-one seconds into the second half after Carreras gave the ball away and Olise laid it into Harry Kane’s path. The striker found the bottom right corner from 20 yards.
Mbappe had been unable to convert any of his chances and neither had Vinicius, courtesy of Neuer, and after Vinicius was gifted the ball he was spooked by the German goalkeeper, twisting too far away from the target and his delicate chip ultimately hit the side netting.
But then with about 15 minutes left to play in normal time Alexander-Arnold bolted down Bayern’s left and put in an excellent cross for Mbappe. The France striker ran onto it and knocked the ball goalwards. There was Neuer again, throwing his body in the way, but it hit the goalkeeper and then up to the underside of the crossbar. There was a scramble and the ball was cleared, but referee Michael Oliver signalled that the ball had crossed the line. A lifeline for Madrid.
💪🔟 @KMbappe pic.twitter.com/3YM1Mb8dKk
— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) April 7, 2026
There was still time for an equaliser in the 89th minute, Mbappe galloping towards goal with space in front of him to exploit. He bent the ball towards the right-hand corner using Bayern’s last defender as a shield, but missed by a foot. Soon came the final whistle, but this is far from over.
