Bayern Munich vs. Real Madrid, as it happened

This is certainly far from over, but Bayern is in bad shape heading to the Bernabeu. They played well for most of the game, but injuries probably derailed them. Without Robben and Boateng, the Bavarians lacked organization and finishing quality. Madrid made the most of the few chances they had.

You can read a full recap of the Champions League semifinal first leg between Bayern Munich and Real Madrid right here.

89’ — The Bayern sub pays off huge! Tolisso sets up Lewandowski for the equalizer... and Lewandowski misses well wide. It was a huge chance. You’d expect him to score.

85’ — Bayern has all of the possession, but Madrid looks comfortable. Martinez’s removal has allowed Modric to relieve pressure consistently. It’ll take a spectacular strike or a big error from Madrid for Bayern to score now.

76’ — Corentin Tolisso, a fairly attack-minded central midfielder, is on for defensive midfielder Javi Martinez. This suggests that Bayern think they has to score again to have a chance to make the final, but it’s a decision that will likely get them destroyed by Cristiano Ronaldo.

72’ — Ronaldo has just put a spectacular half-volley into the back of the net from the edge of the box. Unfortunately, he brought the ball down with his arm, and the ref caught him.

70’ — Ribery has an open shot from 10 yards and misses wide. It’s a bit ridiculous that Bayern is behind.

67’ — Dani Carvajal is injured and must come off. His replacement is... Karim Benzema?

That’ll cause a major reshuffle. Benzema goes up top, Ronaldo shifts a bit right, and Lucas Vazquez becomes the new right back. In the first seconds this configuration is on the field, they barely clear the ball off the line following a Bayern corner kick and scramble.

63’ — Ribery has a shot from 12 yards saved by Navas. Those two away goals will be a problem for Bayern no matter what, but it really looks like they can take back the lead and head to the Bernabeu in a decent position. They’ve been on top this whole game.

57’ — GOAL! Bayern Munich 1-2 Real Madrid

Defensive catastrophe from Bayern. Rafinha turns the ball over at halfway while his entire midfield is pushed forward, leading to a two-on-two break for the Bayern attack. Lucas Vazquez finds the substitute Asensio and he finishes off a clinical counter. An absolute gift of a goal.

51’ — Big chance for Bayern. Ribery beats Carvajal and puts a nice ball across the six-yard box, but Thomas Müller can’t get through a sea of Madrid defenders to tap it into the net. Casemiro gets the crucial touch to keep him from scoring.

46’ — And we’re back. And this might get really fun! Marco Asensio has replaced Isco.

That went very much according to plan for Bayern. They controlled the match all over the pitch, had all the decent chances, and limited Real Madrid’s shots from dangerous areas. Unfortunately for the Bavarians, they couldn’t convert their good chances to goals, and Marcelo hit a world class strike from outside of the box. Tough breaks.

45’ — GOAL! Bayern Munich 1-1 Real Madrid

Los Merengues have a vital away goal courtesy of Marcelo! It’s been a rough first half for Madrid, but the Brazilian left back’s sweet left foot has got his team back in the game. A cross by Dani Carvajal fell perfectly on the edge of the box for Marcelo to blast past Sven Ulreich at the far post.

42’ — Bayern nearly scores from a nice corner routine. A near-post delivery is flicked backwards by Robert Lewandowski, and Mats Hummels hits his volley attempt just over the crossbar.

35’ — Boateng’s exit for Süle is now official. Also, Franck Ribery’s just missed a sitter by forgetting how his legs work and just not shooting. Incredible pass by Thiago to set it up, though.

32’ — Oh no, a second injury substitution for Bayern Munich appears to be on the way. Jerome Boateng has injured a leg muscle sprinting for the ball, and he’s going to be replaced by Niklas Süle.

28’ — GOAL! Bayern Munich 1-0 Real Madrid!

What a sensational goal by Joshua Kimmich, Bayern’s right back in name only. The do-everything Philipp Lahm replacement decides to fill in for Arjen Robben on this occasion. James plays him in behind the defense with a through ball, everyone thinks Kimmich is going to cross to Lewandowski, but instead he places a perfect narrow angle finish into the top corner.

23’ — If you’re finding this game a bit dull for your tastes, you can watch Dele Alli and his friends play Fortnite on Twitch.

19’ — The first thing either goalkeeper has had to do finally happened! Keylor Navas had little problem saving a stinging 25-yard shot from Bayern Munich’s fill-in left back, Rafinha.

15’ — So far this game has mostly consisted of players running into each other and the referee deciding it’s not a foul.

8’ — Robben’s day is done. He’s replaced by Thiago, which isn’t exactly a like-for-like change. James Rodriguez is going to have to move from the midfield role he was in to the right wing to accommodate the Spaniard.

5’ — 34-year-old Arjen Robben, who had flimsy ankles in his early 20s, goes down with a twisted ankle. No decision yet on whether or not he’ll play on.

3’ — Chaotic stuff already, most of it in Madrid’s box. Lucas Vazquez has had to make a flailing clearance, and Dani Carvajal had to clear a ball with his shoulder, six inches lower and it would have been handball.

1’ — Kickoff from Munich! There’s a surprise in the Real Madrid lineup for this first leg, with Lucas Vazquez preferred to Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale. Isco is in the team as well, ahead of those two and Marco Asensio. Madrid will have plenty of work rate and ball-retention, but this lineup could leave Ronaldo very isolated up top.

Bayern Munich: Sven Ulreich; Rafinha, Mats Hummels, Jerome Boateng, Joshua Kimmich, Javi Martinez, Thomas Müller, James Rodriguez, Franck Ribery, Robert Lewandowski, Arjen Robben

Real Madrid: Keylor Navas; Marcelo, Sergio Ramos, Raphael Varane, Dani Carvajal, Casemiro, Luka Modric, Toni Kroos, Isco, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lucas Vazquez

The late stages of the Champions League often yield some impressive matchups, and this semifinal tie between Bayern Munich and Real Madrid certainly qualifies. Their battle gets underway Wednesday in Germany, and it’s going to be an intense duel between two teams in excellent form.

Real Madrid have been through some difficult times to get to the semifinals, just eking out a win over Juventus after battering Paris Saint-Germain, but while their standing in La Liga has improved, they’re still just in third place domestically without a hope of overcoming their arch-rivals Barcelona to win. That means their only trophy available is the Champions League title, and they’ll be eager to win it for a stunning third year in a row. They’ll be helped by the jaw-dropping form of Cristiano Ronaldo, who has scored 26 all-competitions goals for Madrid just since late January.

Stopping him is going to be a tough task for Bayen’s defense, but as always they’ll never back down from the challenge. Bayern have been rolling in a big way of late, and it’s been a fairly straightforward path for them to get to get to this stage. Sevilla and Besiktas provided little challenge to Bayern’s powerful side, but Real Madrid will require them to be at their best. They’ve been stepping up into impressive form recently, so we’ll just have to see just how much quality these two teams pull out of each other.

Match Date/Time: Wednesday, 2:45 p.m. ET, 8:45 p.m. local

Venue: Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany

TV: Fox Sports 1 (U.S. - English), ESPN Deportes (U.S. - Spanish), Sky Sport 1 HD (Germany), Movistar+, beIN Sports (Spain)

Online: Fox Soccer Match Pass, ESPN3 (U.S.), Sky Go Deutschland (Germany), beIN Sports Connect España (Spain)

Make friends: Check out Bavarian Football Works for more Bayern Munich coverage, and head over to Managing Madrid for more on Real Madrid.

Listings for more countries can be found at LiveSoccerTV.