Check out the best facts and Opta data from this entertaining affair in the Champions League quarter-final first leg with our Real Madrid vs Bayern Munich stats page.
Bayern Munich took a step towards the semi-finals of the Champions League after recording their first win over Real Madrid since April 2012, ending a run of nine meetings without a victory against the Spanish giants.
Vincent Kompany’s side were already one of the favourites to win this competition, and this was a huge statement against the European Cup’s most successful club. It means they take a lead back to Germany for next week’s return leg.
A meeting between these two promised a great deal with so much attacking talent on show, and it delivered, as Bayern edged an end-to-end game. This was only the second time on record in the Champions League (since 2003-04) that Madrid have both had 20+ shots and faced 20+ shots in a knockout-stage game.
Before the game, their starting XI may have given Bayern some hope. It an average age of 25 years and 116 days – Madrid’s youngest for a knockout-stage match in the Champions League since the 1999-2000 final against Valencia (25 years, 43 days).
And there were concerning signs of inexperience in the early stages, in the poor decisions they made in attempting risky balls close to their own goal, but more importantly, in their execution. They gave away possession in dangerous areas on several occasions in the first half, and were fortunate not to be punished for their wastefulness on the ball.
Most glaring of their errors was a bizarre exchange of passes between stand-in goalkeeper Andrii Lunin and teenage midfielder Thiago Pitarch which only succeeded in gifting possession to Serge Gnabry inside the box. Fortunately for Madrid, the German could not steer the ball beyond Lunin.
By that stage, Madrid had already had an even bigger let-off, when Dayot Upamecano found himself on the end of a square ball from Harry Kane, but the Bayern centre-back miscued his effort from point-blank range and Álvaro Carreras got back to clear.
It appeared as though the hosts would ride their luck until the break, but Bayern were unrelenting and their pressure paid off. Five minutes before half-time, they won the ball in midfield, broke forwards at pace and Gnabry slipped Luis Díaz in on goal to finish. Díaz now has eight goal involvements in the Champions League this season (five goals, three assists), which is the most by a Colombian in a single season in the competition.
Although Madrid had offered a threat on the break and had had a few decent chances, namely for Vinícius Júnior, who came up against a 39-year-old Manuel Neuer in inspired form, Bayern dominated the first half and might even have been disappointed not to have gone in two goals up.
As it happened, they didn’t have to wait long at all to double their lead.
Just 20 seconds into the second half, Michael Olise laid the ball off for Kane on the edge of the box to slam into the corner of the net. It was the second-earliest goal on record (from 2003-04) from the start of the second half of a Champions League knockout match, after Moussa Marega for Porto against Juventus in February 2021 (19 seconds).
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
Bayern’s exceptional forward line has proved too much for almost everyone they have come up against this season. They had scored 32 goals in their 10 Champions League games before this one, so it was no surprise that this imperfect Madrid team would not be able to shut them out. After his assist, Olise has more non-penalty goal involvements for clubs in Europe’s big-five leagues in 2025-26 (41) than any other player. In second place, it’s Díaz (38).
And they should have put the game to bed. They had more than enough chances to kill the tie before the first leg was over, and if you fail to do so against Madrid, you are bound to be punished. And they were.
Kylian Mbappé was the goalscorer, but Trent Alexander-Arnold deserved all the credit for charging down the right and laying it on a plate for the Frenchman with a delicious ball across the face of goal. Mbappé took his total for the season to 14 Champions League goals; only five players have ever scored more in a season in the competition.
There was plenty more goalmouth action but no more goals, meaning Bayern will take a slimmer lead back to Germany than they might have hoped to. They may look back at the chances they had and the momentum they had at 2-0 and see this as a missed opportunity.
Madrid have a big task ahead of them. They have failed to progress on every one of the five previous occasions that they have lost at home in the first leg of a two-legged knockout-stage tie in the European Cup or Champions League.
But if anyone can do it, Real Madrid can. This tie isn’t yet over.
Our Opta match centre delivers you all the Real Madrid vs Bayern Munich stats from their Champions League quarter-final first leg at the Bernabéu on Tuesday.
The match centre below includes team and player stats, expected goals data, passing networks, an Opta chalkboard and more. It gives you everything you need to do your own match analysis.
Underneath the match centre you can find the official Opta stats on the game as well.
Real Madrid vs Bayern Munich Post-Match Facts
Bayern Munich beat Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League for the first time since April 2012 (2-1), ending a run of nine meetings in the competition without a victory (D2 L7).
This is just the sixth time in their history that Real Madrid have lost at home in the first leg of a two-legged knockout stage tie in the European Cup/UEFA Champions League, and first since the 2019-20 round of 16 v Manchester City (1-2). They failed to progress from each of the previous five ties.
Real Madrid have already lost as many games under Álvaro Arbeloa (6 defeats in 19 games – W13) as they did in 34 games under previous manager Xabi Alonso (6 – W24 D4).
Manuel Neuer made his 136th UEFA Champions League start for FC Bayern München, equalling Lionel Messi’s total for Barcelona (136), and now only trailing Iker Casillas for most starts for a single club in the competition (149 for Real Madrid).
UEFA Champions League Stats Opta
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