UEFA Champions League: How wing wizards Vinicius Junior and Michael Olise could decide blockbuster Real Madrid v Bayern Munich clash
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Published 07/04/2026 at 21:20 GMT+1
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Real Madrid and Bayern Munich lock horns once again in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals with the first leg taking place at the Bernabeu, home of the former, live on TNT Sports and HBO Max. With an array of talent on show, the respective wide men on both teams could have a major say in the outcome of the time.
Highlights: Kane hits 50th CL goal as Bayern thump Atalanta again
Video credit: TNT Sports
European royalty go head-to-head in the UEFA Champions League this week as Real Madrid host Bayern Munich in the first leg of their quarter-final showdown at the Bernabeu, live on TNT Sports and HBO Max.
Between them, the two clubs have lifted the trophy 21 times, albeit heavily skewed in favour of the Spaniards’ 15, but Bayern’s six – the joint-third highest – should hardly be sniffed at.
The German side will hope to take one step towards closing that gap by knocking out their old rivals in a highly anticipated tie between two of the continent’s greatest clubs.
Battles will be fought all over the pitch, with both sides packed with talent, including each side boasting their own mercurial wing wizard who will be expected to play a key role in the outcome over two legs.
In the white corner, Real Madrid possess the star power of Brazil international Vinicius Junior playing off the left flank, while in the red corner, Bayern will arrive in the Spanish capital armed with their very own Michael Olise deployed on the right.
Ahead of the huge first leg showdown, TNT Sports looks at the two wide men and the huge impact each has had on the competition so far.
- Vinicius Jr opens up on Alonso rift at Real Madrid and reveals contract decision
- Why struggling Salah needs to rediscover European form to 'end season on high'
While Kylian Mbappe has been Real’s main man on the scoresheet this term, Vinicius has been more than an able deputy and even stepped up admirably in the Frenchman’s recent layoff with a knee injury.
As Real could only manage a ninth-placed finish in the league phase, forcing them into a play-off, Vinicius’ sole strike during that portion of the competition came in a 6-1 hammering of Monaco.
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Vinicius 'barks back at boo boys' with Real's FIFTH
Video credit: TNT Sports
However, the knockouts and Mbappe’s absence saw him really come to the fore.
He struck the only goal of the play-off first leg away to Benfica in a tie marred by allegations of racist abuse in the aftermath of his strike.
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'Top drawer, top corner, top class' - Vinicius Jr scores a worldie for Madrid to break the deadlock
Video credit: TNT Sports
And then he responded in fine fashion by scoring again in the return match to confirm his side's progression to the round of 16.
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'There's the headline' - Vinicius Jr scores decisive goal to seal Real Madrid win
Video credit: TNT Sports
Here, two goals in the second leg against Manchester City rubber-stamped an emphatic 5-1 aggregate win, taking his own tally to five for the season in Europe.
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Highlights: Man City see red as Real ease into quarter-final
Video credit: TNT Sports
Olise is two goals behind on three following a strike in the league phase against Pafos and a stunning brace in the last-16 first leg thrashing of Atalanta.
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'Trademark Michael Olise!' - Winger doubles Bayern's lead with a beauty
Video credit: TNT Sports
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'Top, top quality!' - Olise scores another stunner as Bayern rack up the score against Atalanta
Video credit: TNT Sports
Both players have also proven productive in the assist department, with Vinicius providing two each in wins over Olympiacos and Monaco, totalling four so far for the campaign.
Olise is one better on five including three in his last four appearances against Sporting CP, Union Saint-Gilloise and Atalanta.
These assists are demonstrative of both players’ remarkable ability on the ball, which will be expected to prove key to their respective sides’ ambitions on the night.
In this season's competition, Vinicius has completed 22 dribbles at a rate of 2 per 90 minutes, while Olise has completed 28 at 3.5 per 90 minutes played.
As seen from the images below, Vinicius tends to drift in-field and across the pitch when attempting to make things happen for team-mates, whereas Olise, even when coming more narrow, appears mostly content creating from the right-hand side.
Vinicius Jr UEFA Champions League chances created 2025/26
Image credit: Opta
Michael Olise UEFA Champions League chances created 2025/26
Image credit: Getty Images
| Vincius | Olise | |
| Games (Minutes) | 12 (990) | 9 (721) |
| Goals (per 90min) | 5 (0.45) | 3 (0.37) |
| xG (per 90min) | 7.15 (0.65) | 3.20 (0.40) |
| Assists (per 90min) | 4 (0.36) | 5 (0.62) |
| xA (per 90min) | 2.91 (0.26) | 3.58 (0.45) |
| Chances created (per 90min) | 20 (1.8) | 26 (3.2) |
| Mins/Goal involvement | 110 | 90.1 |
Vinicius v Olise UEFA Champions League 2025/26 (Opta)
What’s been said?
Following Olise’s performance in the thrashing of Atalanta, Bayern manager Vincent Komany drew comparisons between the young Frenchman and his own former team-mate at Manchester City.
Kompany said: ”He arrived with the mentality that gives him the chance to be one of the best players in the world. He's very detailed in the work he does.
"And I've said it before, I don't want to compare the players, they are not the same players at all, but the mentality when I played with Kevin De Bruyne, I was lucky to watch him come through as a young player and see him become a superstar, a world star, and I saw the whole process.”
After Real Madrid beat Benfica, TNT Sports pundit Joe Cole backed Vinicius to help the Spanish giants to yet more European success.
"He is a real joy to watch as a player," Cole said. "If they can get him and Mbappe on it together, they could beat anyone in Europe - that's for sure."
How to watch Real Madrid v Bayern Munich?
Real Madrid v Bayern Munich will be live on TNT Sports 1 and HBO Max, on Tuesday, April 7.
TNT Sports is available across all major TV platforms, offering a line-up of up to four TV channels (TNT Sports 1, TNT Sports 2, TNT Sports 3, TNT Sports 4), and up to six digital or red-button channels (TNT Sports 5 to 10), and TNT Sports Ultimate plus TNT Sports Box Office HD.
You can subscribe to TNT Sports through HBO Max, BT, EE, Sky, and Virgin Media.
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For the latest information on which football matches are on TNT Sports, click here.
Here is the TNT Sports schedule and TV guide. And for the full Premier League schedule, click here.
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