Bayern Munich 1-2 Real Madrid: Zinedine Zidane plays it perfectly and other things learned

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  • Real Madrid star Marco Asensio

    Marco Asensio came off the bench to score the winner as Real Madrid claimed a 2-1 first-leg lead over Bayern Munich in their Champions League semi-final on Wednesday.

    Here are three things we learned from the first leg at the Allianz Arena:

    MARCELO’S MIX

    Marcelo celebrates his equaliser

    Marcelo celebrates his equaliser

    That Marcelo shows up in the right spot at the right time to score crucial goals is an oddity given he often seems to completely disappear from a defensive perspective.

    The gaping hole at left-back has been Real’s biggest vulnerability for a long time with the Brazilian’s tendency to be caught out high up the pitch being brutally exposed in this season’s Champions League by Tottenham, Juventus and now Bayern Munich.

    Three times Juve scored down Real’s left-side in their second-leg tie and there are undoubtedly positional issues in those situations with no real clear plan to remedy the deficiency.

    In Munich, Marcelo was farcically out of position – virtually off the pitch – as Bayern broke forward with James Rodriguez carving them open before Joshua Kimmich sliced home the opener.

    A lazy track back when dragged out of position has tailed his career and there doesn’t appear to be a discernible plan to plug the hole with neither Casemiro or Sergio Ramos shifting left to cover.

    Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah should be licking his lips at the prospect of facing Real in Kiev and yet Marcelo still managed to provide a timely reminder of his quality.

    How he generated so much power on the half volley, with little backlift for the equaliser, is mystifying but unfortunately for Madrid so is his defending at times.

    REAL’S COUNTER STRIKE

    Marco Asensio celebrates

    Marco Asensio celebrates

    Zidane is harangued in the Spanish media for his tactical limitations and the Frenchman would likely agree with the notion that he’s a far cry from the tactical talent of a Pep Guardiola or Jurgen Klopp.

    But the Los Blancos boss knows the Champions League and he knows his team. After all, he’s won this competition back-to-back and is on course for an absurd third final appearance in a row.

    While the tie is far from over – Real’s defensive frailties from set-pieces and crosses will rear their head in Madrid – he has guided them to a superb foundation with a perfect away day.

    Zidane set his side up to deny the Germans any space in the final third with Real bolted into their defensive shape before springing into life on the counter.

    They sat deep to negate Bayern’s own threatening counter-attack and utitlised a safe but sensible gameplan to keep the host’s scoring low.

    Were it not for another Keylor Navas error – make no mistake he was at fault for blocking the near post from Kimmich’s strike – it would have been even better.

    Marco Asensio’s introduction at half-time for Isco gave the visitors a much wider option on the left, when Rafinha’s suicidal pass was gobbled up by the young Spaniard, and as he sped away after cushioning the ball to Lucas Vazquez, there was only going to be one result.

    JAMES HAS A LICENSE TO THRILL

     James Rodriguez makes on his four tackles

    James Rodriguez makes on his four tackles

    Bayern now face the gargantuan task of dimming the shimmering Whites on their grand Bernabeu stage and with their record against Real now six defeats in their last six it’s a gloomy outlook.

    With concerning injuries to Arjen Robben (substituted after eight minutes) and Jerome Boateng (brought off with a groin complaint in the first-half) the picture darkens, however, boss Jupp Heynckes can take solace in the performance of James Rodriguez.

    The Bavarians were thrown off balance by Robben’s early injury, their 4-1-4-1 shape containing three centre-midfielders with Thiago’s introduction also forcing Thomas Muller uncomfortably out wide.

    But their Colombian playmaker was superb throughout. The perfectly angled and weighted pass for Kimmich’s goal was a delight but he married his dynamism (a game high four key passes and 90 percent pass success rate from 71 passes made) with tenacity (four tackles was joint most for Bayern with eight duels won).

    He was their tempo master, quarterbacking their offensive output and a repeat performance in his old home will give Munich plenty of hope.

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