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Bayern Munich 1-2 Real Madrid: 5 Talking Points

Bayern Munich 1-2 Real Madrid highlights
Marco Asensio scored the winner for Real Madrid

Seven Champions League trophies separate Real Madrid and Bayern Munich in the Champions League but all Los Blancos needed tonight was a Marco Asensio goal to separate the two European heavyweights.

Joshua Kimmich had given the German side the lead in the first half before Marcelo levelled the score. A swift counter-attack in the second half from Real then mercilessly punished a Rafinha error as Asensio made it 2-1 to give Real two away goals going into the second leg.

Here are the major talking points from the game.


#1 Real Madrid struggle with Cristiano Ronaldo as centre-forward

Bayern Munich Real Madrid highlights Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo failed to get on the scoresheet against Bayern Munich

When the lineups were announced, Zinedine Zidane's teamsheet had many fans scratching their heads. Both Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale were rested while Lucas Vazquez and Isco were handed starts.

This move saw Cristiano Ronaldo leading the line and it did not go according to plan for Real Madrid. Without Benzema on the pitch, Bayern's centre-backs had the easy task of teaming up to deal with Ronaldo.

Vazquez did not make many forays into the box to occupy either of the two centre-backs while Isco was dealt with by Bayern's full-backs who even switched flanks at certain times.

Real were toothless for most of the first half with Ronaldo managing just a single shot on goal. The only time he was a threat was when Dani Carvajal sent in crosses into the box but there was simply no space for him to repeat his bicycle-kick heroics from the Juventus game.

Ronaldo's frustrating night was highlighted by two incidents - one where his miscued shot went out for a throw-in near the corner flag and another where he controlled a cross to score before the referee blew the whistle for a handball from the Portuguese forward.

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