Vinicius Junior at the double as Bayern Munich and Real Madrid play out thrilling 2- 2 draw

The thrilling first leg of the UEFA Champions League (UCL) semi-final between Bayern Munich and Real Madrid concluded with a 2-2 draw. Vinícius Júnior's late penalty ensured that Los Blancos remained unbeaten in their eighth consecutive meeting with Bayern Munich in the knockout rounds of Europe's top club competition, marking the 25th head-to-head clash between the two heavyweights.

The clash between these two European giants, both vying for a spot in the UCL final, promised to be a spectacle right from the start.

Leroy Sané, who hadn't scored since October, showed great determination to give the passionate Allianz Arena crowd an early reason to celebrate.

However, his efforts were thwarted by Andriy Lunin, denying him a goal.
He then assisted Kane for another attempt that was saved, before fiercely shooting over the crossbar.

The hosts were lacking an opener in a quarter-hour filled with positive signs, with Jamal Musiala also squandering chances.

Shortly after, they fell behind as Real Madrid finally gained possession and capitalized in the 24th minute.

Vinícius connected with Toni Kroos' perfectly timed through ball and calmly slotted his finish past an unusually hesitant Manuel Neuer for the Brazilian's 20th goal in all competitions this season.

Despite Leon Goretzka's shot forcing Aurélien Tchouaméni into a brave block, the pace slowed down after the initial goal, and Carlo Ancelotti's team appeared comfortable until Musiala won a free-kick that Kane narrowly missed past the post.

Sané finally scored the long-awaited goal he desired shortly after the break, cutting inside Ferland Mendy and smashing a powerful strike into the bottom corner.

In a surprising turn of events, Musiala enticed Lucas Vázquez into a clumsy foul for a penalty that Kane calmly converted to complete a four-minute turnaround.

Eric Dier blocked Vinícius' effort to prevent a scare, but failed to show the same conviction at the other end as his two headers were easily gathered by Lunin.

Although Los Blancos struggled in the second half, Kim Min-jae gave the visitors a chance to get back into the game by clumsily fouling Rodrygo, allowing Vinícius to calmly convert from the penalty spot, leaving the tie finely balanced heading into the second leg and extending Real Madrid's unbeaten run in the UCL to 11 matches.

On the other hand, Bayern are unbeaten in 16 home UCL games and still hold out hope of avoiding a season without a trophy for the first time since 2011/12.