Holders Real Madrid came from a goal down to snatch a precious 2-1 victory at wasteful Bayern Munich on Wednesday
The result means the defending champions carry a considerable advantage into their Champions League semifinal second leg in Spain.
Real, eyeing a third straight title, needed a 44th-minute equaliser by Marcelo against the run of play to cancel out Joshua Kimmich’s opener after Bayern, chasing three trophies this season, had missed a hatful of chances.
A perfect break allowed Real substitute Marco Asensio to beat Sven Ulreich with a fine effort and grab the winner in the 57th minute.
The result was identical to last year’s quarterfinal first leg between the teams before Real won the return game as well on the way to the first successful Champions League title defence.
Liverpool crushed AS Roma 5-2 in the other semifinal first leg on Tuesday. (Reuters/NAN)