Real Madrid score two away goals against Bayern Munich

Real Madrid, the Spanish football club infamous as the nemesis of FC Bayern Munich, sent the Allianz Arena into silence yet again.

The Spanish football club defeated the unswerving leaders of the Bundesliga by 2-1 in the first leg of 2017-2018 UEFA Champions League semi-finals in Munich on Thursday. The German hosts lost their ace winger Arjen Robben to injury in the eighth minute before sending out Jerome Boateng to the sideline in the 34th minute, and Madrid well exploited their absence to gain a vantage point to the final.

It was a fight between Munich’s spear and Madrid’s shield, with each of the contenders posting seven and 17 shots on target, respectively. In the 28th minute, Munich’s Joshua Kimmich found an opener, but Madrid’s Marcelo equalized the match in the 44th minute of the first half. It was in the 12th minute of the latter half that a winner was netted by Marco Asensio, who executed a composed finish from a mistake by a Munich defender.

This season, Real Madrid are seeking to win their third consecutive UEFA Champions League championship. The second leg of the semi-final round between the Spanish and German rivals will be hosted by Real Madrid at Santiago Bernabeu on May 2.


Jae-Hyeng Kim monami@donga.com