Cristiano Ronaldo came back for Real Madrid from being a goal down to beat Bayern Munich 2-1 at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday night in the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals first tier.
The Bavarians, courtesy of a bullet header from midfielder Arturo Vidal took the lead in the first half. The Chilean international then threw away two great opportunities to drive home his team’s advantage by missing a close-range header before blazing one over from the penalty spot.
Ronaldo equalized for the Los Blancos soon after the restart, following some superb displays from Dani Carvajal and the visitors started putting the Bundesliga giants under pressure from then on. However, the home team survived due to some brilliant stops from Manuel Neuer in goal. Bayern’s defender Javi Martinez received his marching orders, handing over the advantage to Madrid, who managed to complete the comeback with the Portuguese international pushing him from Marco Asensio’s sublime cross.
Below is how Real Madrid players fared on the night:
Keylor Navas – 6/10
He tried his best in trying to save Vidal’s powerful headed effort. Apart from that, Carlo Ancelotti’s side failed to work him enough. Played well with high crosses.
Dani Carvajal – 8/10
The Real full-back was a tireless performer during the clash with the German side as he ran up and down the flank managing both his defensive and attacking responsibilities really well. Carvajal was very unlucky to have conceded the penalty. However, he set up the 1st equalizer for Ronaldo with a fine cut-back.
Nacho – 6/10
Nacho was started due to Raphael Varane and Pepe both being absent. He was beaten way too easily by Vidal for the header. However, apart from that, Nacho did well and stood strong against the strong Bayern side in what was his just second European appearance this season.
Sergio Ramos – 6/10
The captain. He pushed and urged his team forward by carrying the ball out of the back of plenty of occasions. At times, distributions from the Spaniard was poor at times, but all in all, it was a brilliant performance from the captain.
Marcelo – 6/10
The Brazilian was a constant outlet for Real Madrid down the left-hand side as he drove forward with great speed. But Marcelo was quite wasteful in possession at times. He was caught out by Arjen Robben on a couple of occasions. Not his best performance.
Casemiro – 7.5/10
He bagged an injury early in the game, but managed to cope through to put in another strong display. He recorded highest – 8 – tackles in the game, covered ground well and picked Carvajal out with a fine pass in the lead up to the equaliser.
Luka Modric – 7/10
It’s right to say Luka Modric was the busiest Real player of the field, the former Tottenham Hotspur man did not impose himself on the game in the early stages but came into his own once the Bavarians went down to 10 men. Modric played a vital role in the second goal.
Toni Kroos – 7/10
Win the number of most of the touches mad by any player in the game with an incredibly high pass accuracy of 97%, the Germany international looked good against his former side. He provided his team-mates with good crosses into the box, drove them forward, especially after Martinez was sent off.
Gareth Bale – 5/10
Needed a big performance after some unimpressive displays, but was largely ineffective for the reigning champions once again. Bale came close to scoring from a point-blank header in the second period, before he was taken off.
Karim Benzema – 7.5/10
Karim Benzema was denied by Manuel Neuer early in the game. He played very well on the night and carried the ball forward brilliantly, his interplay with his teammates was once again top notch. An all-round performance from the Frenchman.
Cristiano Ronaldo – 8.5/10
Had a quiet first half against the opposition side, but came back alive in the second period causing Bayern Munich all sorts of problems with his movement. Ronaldo opened the scoring with a fine side-footed and forced Martinez’s sending off by drawing him into two poor challenges, before he nailed the win with another smart finish. A fantastic display from the Portuguese.
Substitutes
Marco Asensio – 7/10
Was brought in to replace Gareth Bale in the 59th minute and showed why he is rated so highly. He assisted Cristiano Ronaldo second with a sublimed ball into the box. Brought changes into the team.
James Rodriguez – NA
Replaced Benzema in the 83rd minute.
Mateo Kovacic – NA
Came on for Modric with less than a minute left to play.