This was Real Madrid serving notice that their grip on this trophy is not ready to be loosened quite yet, and particularly now that Cristiano Ronaldo’s swagger on this stage has been restored with a vengeance. The Portuguese had come into this contest struggling to comprehend quite how he had endured 197 scoreless days in the Champions League, yet that drought was cut short after 11 hours of football. He ended the night with a brace and relishing life as the first player to have mustered a century of goals in European club competition.
His is a remarkable record. Bayern Munich must be sick of the sight of him, so regularly are they tormented in his presence. At 32, the forward may hover unnoticed on the periphery of games waiting for his moment, but he retains that knack of bursting into life to transform ties at this level: his bite is as keen as ever, his influence as weighty. It was Ronaldo who clipped a volley from Dani Carvajal’s centre early in the second half to force Madrid level after a bruising opening period, and his darts which drew a pair of fouls, and accompanying flashes of yellow from the referee, for Javi Martínez within 173 seconds around the hour.
Once the hosts were reduced to 10, their initial dominance long since eroded as they became entrenched in attempts at containment, the visiting No7 was never likely to spare them for long. Manuel Neuer had done his best to keep him out, conjuring one mind-boggling save with his right hand, but Ronaldo would not be denied. The game still had 13 minutes to play when the Portuguese sprung in front of a tiring Jérôme Boateng to meet Marco Asensio’s delivery and convert through the goalkeeper from close range. “He was happy in the dressing room, but not fully happy because he had the chance to score the third too,” said Zinedine Zidane in the aftermath. “He has so much ambition. But in the end we are all happy. It’s not easy to get this result here.”
That represented an understatement. Defeat actually curtailed Bayern’s 16-match winning run in the Champions League in this arena, a remarkable record in itself, for all that the locals departed choked with regret at what might have been. A side already depleted by injuries to Robert Lewandowski and Matts Hummels had excelled through much of the first period, albeit after Neuer had tipped Karim Benzema’s header on to the bar, and forced the pace courtesy of Arturo Vidal’s thunderous header from the excellent Thiago Alcantara’s corner. The effort had burst through Keylor Navas’s attempt to block, and was followed soon after by a similar attempt which flew just over the bar. For a while, Real quivered.
Yet Vidal’s evening, like that of his team-mates, rather deteriorated from the moment Carvajal was harshly penalised for blocking Franck Ribéry’s shot with a shoulder and a hint of upper arm in stoppage time at the end of the period. The Chilean had been granted penalty duties in Lewandowski’s absence but, perhaps unsettled by Marcelo’s chuntering in his ear, lost his composure at the spot-kick and blazed the ball into the stand. Bayern’s chances effectively went with it. “Two aspects, two little details ... missing the penalty and conceding the equaliser so soon after the break,” Carlo Ancelotti said. “And then the red card changed the game totally.”
With their resources already relatively stretched, Bayern’s back-line took on a rather makeshift feel once Martínez had exited. They never really came to terms with the pace and movement of Real’s forwards in what time remained. Gareth Bale, who departed hampered by a hamstring injury – he declared the twinge to be “not too bad” as he left the ground – forced Neuer to turn away a free header, and both Benzema and Sergio Ramos would have goals disallowed. The latter’s header was actually ruled out in stoppage time at the end though, by then, Ronaldo had stamped his authority on the tie.
Ancelotti had once counted Cristiano an ally. “Until the red card we had actually controlled him very well, but sometimes you have no luck,” the Italian said. “But he’s always been a decisive player, and tonight he decided the game.” Real carry the advantage into the return at the Bernabéu next Tuesday. If Ronaldo maintains this form, a notable scalp and a semi-final place await. The holders’ conviction that they can become the first team to retain the modern-day Champions League has been reinforced.
