Real Madrid vs Bayern Munich live updates: Champions League team news, predictions and more

Munich, Germany – Bayern Munich will carry a slender but precious 2-1 advantage into next Wednesday’s Champions League quarter-final second leg after striking twice at the Bernabéu to dent Real Madrid’s aura of invincibility on home soil.

First-half poacher Luis Diaz and captain Harry Kane just after the restart punished sloppy Madrid passing, before Kylian Mbappé tapped in a late reply that keeps the tie delicately poised ahead of the return at the Allianz Arena.

Vincent Kompany’s visitors were ruthless when it mattered. A loose ball in the 38th minute allowed Diaz to drill low past Andriy Lunin; another cheap turnover early in the second period ended with Kane sweeping a composed finish into the far corner for his 51st career goal in the competition, drawing him level with Thierry Henry on the all-time list.

Mbappé, who earlier had been denied repeatedly by 40-year-old Manuel Neuer, finally found a way through nine minutes from time, steering in Trent Alexander-Arnold’s low cross to register his 14th Champions League strike of the campaign. Only Cristiano Ronaldo, Robert Lewandowski and Karim Benzema have managed more in a single season.

Neuer, outstanding throughout, flummoxed Vinícius Júnior with a pair of point-blank stops and almost clawed away Mbappé’s close-range effort, but the Frenchman’s shot squirmed through the goalkeeper’s gloves to set up a rousing finale Madrid could not cap.

Speaking to TNT Sports post-match, Kompany praised his veteran No 1: “He makes it look so easy. We will not reach the end of this competition without these types of performances.”

The Belgian coach, refusing to look beyond the next 90 minutes, added: “I see no reason not to go into that game with more belief. The team has earned the right to be themselves.”

Opposite number echoed the respect for Neuer, branding the German “MVP” and lamenting the two cheap concessions: “We lose two balls and they score two goals. We can’t lose these types of balls because they are so fast, so quick.”

Despite the deficit, the manager insisted Madrid remain “alive” and will travel to Bavaria with hope of turning the tie on its head.

Fixture congestion offers little breathing space. Madrid host Girona in La Liga on Friday before the mid-week flight north, while Bayern visit St Pauli on Saturday ahead of the decisive European encounter.

Elsewhere on the continent, Arsenal eked out a 1-0 win at Sporting CP in Lisbon, tightening the English club’s grip on their own quarter-final.

For now, though, the focus in Europe shifts to the Allianz, where Harry Kane and company will attempt to finish the job and book a place in the final four, while Mbappé and Madrid plot another famous comeback.