Vinícius Júnior scored both goals for Real Madrid in Munich.
Real Madrid celebrated not only emerging unscathed from the first leg of their UEFA Champions League semi-final against Bayern Munich, but also equalling a new record as they went 11 games unbeaten this season in the competition.
That matches the record set in 2016/17, the only previous time that the club has ever extended the run to such a prolonged series of games without defeat in Europe’s elite soccer competition.
The run started with a perfect group stage of six wins from six as the Spanish club took on Union Berlin, SC Braga and Napoli, conceding seven goals and scoring 16 in the process.
Since then, they have returned to Germany twice, taking on RB Leipzig with a 1-0 victory in Germany and a 1-1 tie in Spain, and then Manchester City, with a 3-3 draw in Spain followed by a 1-1 result in England, eventually beating Pep Guardiola’s team on penalties to progress.
As such, their run of 11 games without defeat now includes four draws and seven victories, with only two games left to go in the competition before they could go all the way to seal a 15th title in the Champions League.
The 2016/17 precedent
Only once before has Real Madrid ever gone further than their record this season, which came in the 2016/17 campaign where they eventually won the tournament in Cardiff in the United Kingdom with a final win over Juventus.
That time, they won eight games and drew three before eventually falling to a 2-1 defeat against Atlético Madrid in the semi-final second leg in the final European game to be played at the Estadio Vicente Calderon. That was no problem for Los Blancos, though, as they had a 3-0 first-leg lead to rely upon.
Up to that point, Real Madrid had won a group with Borussia Dortmund, Sporting Clube de Portugal and Legia Warsaw, before winning their first five knock-out ties including both legs against Napoli and Bayern Munich in the last 16 and quarter-final.
All to play for at the Bernabéu
Real Madrid saw the record slipping through their fingers for a period in the second half of this game after Harry Kane gave the German team the lead just before the hour mark from the penalty spot.
That required Vinícius Júnior to score a second goal of the night to take the scoreline to 2-2, setting up a blockbuster return fixture in Spain next Wednesday, on May 8th. That tie will determine who reaches the final, to be held in London at Wembley Stadium on June 1st.
For that fixture, Los Blancos will count upon the return of Dani Carvajal. The veteran defender was suspended for the first leg after collecting his third yellow card of the season in Manchester, and his replacement, Lucas Vázquez, conceded the penalty which allowed Bayern to take the lead at the Allianz Arena.
The second leg will also be a repeat of the famous 2011/12 semi-final, when Sergio Ramos missed a decisive penalty to allow Bayern Munich to progress to Wembley. This time, Real Madrid go into the tie as favorites and looking for revenge.
