Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane: Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer is a wall
ByPA Sport
Updated 13/04/2017 at 07:56 GMT
Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane hailed his side after a brace from Cristiano Ronaldo saw them come from behind to beat 10-man Bayern Munich 2-1 in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final and also lavished praise on home keeper Manuel Neuer.
Bayern Munich's German keeper Manuel Neuer makes a save during the UEFA Champions League 1st leg quarter-final football match FC Bayern Munich v Real Madrid in Munich, southen Germany on April 12, 2017.
Image credit: AFP
Bayern, who had thrashed Arsenal 10-2 on aggregate to take their place in the last eight, took the lead at the Allianz Arena midway through the first half when Arturo Vidal crashed in a bullet header from a corner.
However, the Chile midfielder then sent a penalty over the crossbar which would have doubled the German team's advantage in stoppage time before the break.
It proved a costly miss as Ronaldo swept in an equaliser two minutes into the second half before Bayern's defensive midfielder Javi Martinez picked up two quick cautions to leave the home side a player down for the final half-hour.
After some brilliant saves from Neuer, Ronaldo took his tally to 100 European goals when he stabbed the ball in with 13 minutes left which puts the European champions in the driving seat ahead of next week's return leg at the Bernabeu.
Zidane praised Neuer but warned against any complacency, despite the confident performance.
"A tie is never decided in the first leg, but we played a good match. We probably could have scored one or two more goals, but we're very happy," the Real coach said.
"It is not easy to play here, Bayern have great players and are a great team, but we still needed to play well in the second half. We were against a goalkeeper who is a wall.”
Bayern were missing Poland forward Robert Lewandowski because of a shoulder injury, and lacked a cutting edge in the final third.
Manager Carlo Ancelotti, though, is determined to remain positive as he prepares to return to the Bernabeu for the first time since he left the Madrid club in 2015.
"We had no luck tonight and it was the small details which made the difference," the Italian coach said.
"We missed the penalty when we could have made it 2-0, then we conceded right at the start of the first half and that changed the match."
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