Vinícius Júnior leads Real Madrid to 2-2 draw at Bayern Munich in Champions League semifinal

30/04/2024

Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior celebrates after scoring his side’s second goal on a penalty kick during the Champions League semifinal first leg soccer match between Bayern Munich and Real Madrid at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Christian Bruna)

MUNICH (AP) — Vinícius Júnior scored twice for Real Madrid to draw 2-2 at Bayern Munich in the first leg of their Champions League semifinal on Tuesday.

Bayern dominated, but Madrid survived, and the tie is still wide open ahead of the second leg in Madrid on May 8.

With the focus on England stars Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham, as well as Toni Kroos’ return to his former team, Vinícius emerged as the decisive figure on a night when his bright green boots were often a blur.

The Brazil forward opened the scoring against the run of play in the 24th minute and equalized with a coolly taken penalty in the 83rd after Leroy Sané and Kane had scored for Bayern.

Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior celebrates after scoring his side’s second goal during the Champions League semifinal first leg soccer match between Bayern Munich and Real Madrid at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

Kane’s goal, another penalty, was the England forward’s 43rd goal in 43 games for Bayern this season.

The winners of the two-leg semifinal will play either Borussia Dortmund or Paris Saint-Germain in the final in London on June 1.

Harry Kane celebra tras marcar el segundo gol del Bayern Múnich ante el Real Madrid en las semifinales de la Liga de Campeones, el martes 30 de abril de 2024, en Múnich. (AP Foto/Matthias Schrader)

Bayern totally dominated the opening stages. Sané had an effort saved by Andriy Lunin in the first minute and the hosts went on to miss a slew of chances.

Nearly 20 minutes elapsed before Madrid enjoyed a period with the ball.

Then Kroos spotted Vinícius’ run and played a perfect through ball for the Brazilian to sweep the visitors’ first real chance past Manuel Neuer in the Bayern goal.

Bayern lost its early zest as the visitors saw more of the ball. Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel gesticulated wildly at his players to push forward, then threw his arms up in exasperation.

Kane went closest with a free kick before the break, awarded for a foul by Nacho on Jamal Musiala, who gingerly rubbed his bandaged left leg. The Germany forward had only just recovered from a knee problem.

Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior, left, celebrates after scoring his side’s second goal during the Champions League semifinal first leg soccer match between Bayern Munich and Real Madrid at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

Sané equalized in the 53rd when he ran at the Madrid defense and cut inside Ferland Mendy before firing a fierce strike just inside the near post.

Kane made it 2-1 four minutes later with a penalty awarded after Lucas Vázquez bundled over Musiala.

But it wasn’t the last penalty as Kim Min-jae brought down Rodrygo. Vinícius duly equalized from the spot.

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