Real Madrid 1-2 Bayern Munich: Kane gives Kompany´s men first-leg advantage in Champions League thri

Bayern Munich left the Santiago Bernabeu with a 2-1 advantage in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final against Real Madrid.

Kylian Mbappe reduced the deficit for Los Blancos after goals from Luis Diaz and Harry Kane on either side of half-time, and though Bayern missed plenty of golden opportunities, they also heavily relied on Manuel Neuer at the other end in what was a classic European encounter.

Bayern started on the front foot and should have been ahead when Kane found Dayot Upamecano in the six-yard box, but the defender mishit his effort and allowed Alvaro Carreras to clear off the line for the hosts.

After Neuer denied good attempts from Vinicius Junior and Mbappe, and Thiago Pitarch got away with a poor pass, Bayern went ahead in the 41st minute as Diaz finished a sweeping move with a first-time finish around Andrii Lunin.

Bayern then struck just 20 seconds into the second half as Michael Olise found an unmarked Kane on the edge of the box, and the English striker picked out the bottom-right corner with ease.

Madrid refused to give in, though they seemed to be missing the final touch as Vinicius failed to hit the target after rounding Neuer before the German shot-stopper made an incredible save to tip Mbappe’s driven attempt around the post.

But Los Blancos’ persistence paid off in the end as Mbappe managed to turn in from Trent Alexander-Arnold’s pinpoint centre, despite Neuer getting a hand to the shot and almost clawing it away.

4 – Harry Kane has scored or assisted in four consecutive #UCL appearances against Real Madrid (2 goals, 2 assists), the joint-longest run by a player against them in the competition (also 4 by Giovane Élber in 2002 and P-E Aubameyang in 2017). Unfazed. pic.twitter.com/ciKAU9ZSwK

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) April 7, 2026

Data Debrief: The inevitable Kane and Mbappe

It was end-to-end, to say the least, in the Spanish capital as Madrid produced 1.97 expected goals (xG) to Bayern’s 2.99, with both sides registering 20 shots.

Kane scored on his return from injury, finding the back of the net with one of his three shots, though Olise led the charge with a team-high four shots and four completed dribbles.

Kane has now scored or assisted in four consecutive Champions League appearances against Madrid (two goals, two assists), the joint-longest run by a player against them in the competition (also four by Giovane Elber in 2002 and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in 2017).

Mbappe, meanwhile, has 14 goals in the Champions League this season; only Cristiano Ronaldo (three times), Robert Lewandowski (15 in 2019-20), and Karim Benzema (15 in 2021-22) have more in a single campaign in the competition.