Cristiano Ronaldo's 99th and 100th goals in UEFA club competitions ensured Real Madrid came away with a precious 2-1 away win against Bayern Munich, as Arturo Vidal was left to reflect on what could have been following his first-half penalty miss.
Vidal was at the centre of everything good and bad about the first half, as he opened the scoring with a bullet header from Thiago Alcantara's 26th minute corner before blazing a penalty over the bar on the stroke of half-time.
Ronaldo equalised in the 47th minute with a wonderful finish on the volley inside the area, leaving Vidal wondering what could have been had he made it 2-0 from the penalty spot.
Javi Martinez put Bayern under pressure with half an hour to go as he received two bookings within three minutes and was shown a red card by referee Andrea Rizzoli, before Ronaldo's 100th goal in UEFA club competitions secured victory for Zinedine Zidane's side on 77 minutes.
Changes all around as injuries force both manager's hands
Bayern Munich made two changes from their 4-1 home win over Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga, as Sven Ulreich unsurprisingly made way for Manuel Neuer while Thomas Muller was deployed in the lone striker role due to Robert Lewandowski's absence from the squad.
Zidane on the other had made just the one change to the side that were held to a 1-1 draw at the Santiago Bernabeu by local rivals Atletico Madrid on Saturday, as Nacho Fernandez came into central defence in the place of Pepe.
Despite the immense quality on display at the Allianz Arena it took 18 minutes for there to be any real sight of goal for either side.
It came the way of the visitors, as former Bayern man Toni Kroos whipped a pinpoint cross onto the head of Karim Benzema at the back post and his downward effort caused problems for Neuer who forced it onto the crossbar before gathering.
Carlo Ancelotti's men recovered from the scare in the fashion you would expect from the reigning Bundesliga champions in the 26th minute, and the method of the goal was one fans are more used to seeing Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos provide at the other end.
Thiago's corner was whipped into the centre of the box and met the head of the charging Vidal, who beat Fernandez in the air with a bullet header that Keylor Navas could only help on its way into the roof of the net to put Bayern ahead.
The Chilean midfielder had two fantastic opportunities to double his side's advantage towards the end of the half, first via Arjen Robben's work down the right wing that led to his cross finding Vidal at the back post but this time his header was sent over the crossbar.
Vidal was at the centre of things once again on the stroke of half-time as the Bavarians won a controversial penalty. Winger Franck Ribery twisted and turned on the edge of the area before trying a shot that struck the shoulder of Dani Carvajal, and Rizzoli paused before awarding the hosts a spot kick.
Justice was served in the minds of the Madrid fans mere moments later however, as Vidal stepped up to take and sent his penalty sailing well over the bar and into the stands.
Bayern made to pay for missed opportunities in the second half
Madrid hauled themselves back on level terms just two minutes after half time, and who else could it be but Ronaldo?
Casemiro played the ball out wide to Carvajal who weighed up his options before crossing into the centre of the box for Ronaldo to finish expertly on the volley for his 99th goal in UEFA club competitions, directing the ball into the far corner leaving Neuer with no chance.
The visitors would have found themselves 2-1 up in the 56th but for the fingertips of Neuer. Luka Modric crossed into the area from the left flank and found Gareth Bale six yards away out, but his header was tipped over the bar by the German international who prevented a potentially fatal second away goal.
Bayern got themselves into immense trouble on 60 minutes, as Martinez was shown his second yellow card for a trip on Ronaldo that led to his side changing their focus as they tried to hold on to the 1-1 draw for the final half an hour.
The hosts opted to sacrifice former Madrid man Xabi Alonso, bringing on left-back Bernat to shore up the backline with David Alaba moving from left-back to central defence.
Neuer came to Bayern's rescue twice in quick succession as Carvajal played Benzema through on goal on 72 minutes, but the German kept the ball out with his feet to deny Madrid what seemed a certain goal.
Minutes later the ball was fed to Ronaldo, who could only blast his shot straight down the throat of Neuer from 15 yards but the Bayern keeper made sure to parry away from danger as his side clung on.
Ronaldo's second of the night came in the 77th minute from substitute Marco Asensio's cross, and the Portuguese winger prodded through the legs of Neuer from close range to put Madrid ahead.
Ramos thought he had put his side 3-1 up in the final minutes of the game from a Kroos free-kick, but he was rightly judged to have been offside when the ball was crossed in by the German.