Kahn blunder costs Bayern

Champions League, first knockout rd, first leg / Bayern Munich 1 Real Madrid 1: An idol can have hands of clay. With seven minutes left, Oliver Kahn fumbled Roberto Carlos's 35-yard free-kick into his own net to grant Real Madrid an equaliser they had not deserved in this first leg.

The error joins a series of fiascos for the great Bayern Munich goalkeeper. The despondency of his team will be at least as great since they had made a steely bid to re-establish themselves as a great European force.

Bayern's deep instincts about this match were sketched out in a formation that asked Martin Demichelis to guard the back four. Conservative as that strategy seemed, it left room for aggression, as the Argentinian showed when targeting the Real man who was his natural prey to leave Raul in a heap after 19 minutes. Only after that did Bayern show their inclination to set about the visitors in a wholesome fashion.

Bayern's coach Ottmar Hitzfeld had proposed that the sub-zero temperature would be a disadvantage to a Spanish club. Even those who did not cringe at the stereotyping could have reminded him of the African and three South Americans in his own line-up who were not raised in the rigours of Bavarian winters.

Despite having the climate as a supposed ally, Hitzfeld wanted his men to be patient and let the form that has escaped them recently seep back. It worked and after some 20 minutes the less measured passing of Bayern was no longer such a handicap when Real were betraying a vulnerability to the piratical forays.

Accomplished as David Beckham and, to a degree, Guti may be, they do not relish being forced to scurry and cover a mere 25 yards or so in front of their goalkeeper Iker Casillas. The opportunities before the interval were mostly the property of Bayern. Claudio Pizarro, unmarked, headed a Willy Sagnol cross over in the 20th minute as the home side found some verve.

Three minutes later, Ivan Helguera was hacking wildly over his own bar and, soon after, Casillas needed two

attempts to gather Ze Roberto's raking shot. Owen Hargreaves was to cause the keeper as much worry with another low drive in the 36th minute.

The flight to Munich was not quite the sentimental journey of which Beckham might have dreamed. This was his first venture to the city since the 5-1 defeat of Germany and Real had considerately booked the squad into the same hotel that England used in 2001. Any achievement by his club in this game was bound to be of a different nature. The foul on him which brought Michael Ballack a booking was a superfluous reminder of the innate competitiveness here.

Real's centre forward also sensed the challenge. Peculiarly, considering the tight circles in which a star's career is conducted, Ronaldo had never played on this ground before but there ought to have been a buck-toothed grin for the Brazilian just before half-time.

It was, after all, Kahn's error that set Ronaldo and Brazil on their way in the World Cup final two years ago. But there was nothing for Ronaldo to smile about in the 45th minute when Roberto Carlos laid on Real's best chance of the half and the goalkeeper saved confidently the forward's mundane finish.

The limited benefit of Real's polished technique on this night was neatly encapsulated when the refined Zinedine Zidane was dragged into the attrition to such an extent that he was shown a yellow card for his foul on Ze Roberto. With passions rising, it had to be borne steadily in mind that his club, at that stage, were in better condition than they normally are at this stadium.

A swirling 25-yarder from Beckham that arced just over was a reminder that the evening still contained possibilities for Real. Bayern gave a measure of encouragement to Carlos Queiroz's team with their struggle to produce a sharp finish.

Roy Makaay was very lax to waste a header from the busy Ze Roberto's cross. After 63 minutes Hasan Salihamidzic constructed a slick one-two with Ze Roberto but found that the angle made it impossible for him to fire past Casillas.

Circumstances could not always be so unfavourable. With 15 minutes left, Pizarro was to spin on the right and drop in the perfect cross that Makaay headed home.

BAYERN MUNICH: Kahn, Sagnol, Lizarazu (Salihamidzic 46), Kuffour, Kovac, Demichelis (Jeremies 90), Makaay, Ze Roberto, Ballack, Pizarro (Santa Cruz 76), Hargreaves. Subs Not Used: Rensing, Linke, Schweinsteiger, Trochowski. Booked: Ballack, Demichelis. Goal: Makaay 75.

REAL MADRID: Casillas, Salgado, Carlos, Zidane, Helguera, Raul, Ronaldo (Solari 90), Figo, Guti, Bravo, Beckham. Subs Not Used: Cesar, Portillo, Cambiasso, Pavon, Borja, Mejia. Booked: Zidane, Ronaldo, Figo. Goal: Carlos 83.

Referee: Terje Hauge (Norway).