UEFA names Man of the Match for Real Madrid v Bayern Munich

The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) has announced the winner of the Man of the Match award for the Real Madrid v Bayern Munich fixture, which took place on Tuesday evening in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals.

Bayern Munich triumphed 2-1 at Real Madrid’s home ground, the Santiago Bernabéu, taking a significant step towards qualifying for the Champions League semi-finals.

Luis Díaz and Harry Kane scored Bayern’s two goals in the 41st and 46th minutes, whilst Kylian Mbappé netted Real’s sole goal in the 74th minute.

UEFA named Bayern Munich captain and veteran German goalkeeper Manuel Neuer as Man of the Match, as he excelled and saved more than one clear-cut chance for Real Madrid players, particularly the duo of Mbappé and Vinícius Júnior.

UEFA said on its official website: “Manuel Neuer has been named Man of the Match. The UEFA Technical Observer Panel said: ‘He showed great composure at crucial moments, made vital saves and demonstrated exceptional ability in one-on-one situations’.”

Neuer has moved into joint ninth place on the list of players with the most appearances in European club competitions in history, level with Gianluigi Buffon, Lionel Messi and Thomas Müller on 167 matches.

Neuer needs two more matches to equal Robert Lewandowski’s tally in eighth place, whilst Cristiano Ronaldo tops the list with 197 appearances.

The second leg will be played at the Allianz Arena next Wednesday to determine who progresses to the Champions League semi-finals, where they will face the winner of the Paris Saint-Germain v Liverpool tie.

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