It might not have been the 2014 Champions League semifinal, but Wednesday night, Real Madrid defeated Bayern Munich 1-0 from MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, in the International Champions Cup. 

Defender Danilo provided the lone goal of the match, which came in the 79th minute when he curled home a left-footed shot from the outside of the box into the upper left-hand corner of the goal. 

It was a rare moment of quality, as Americans received a firsthand look at these world soccer superpowers, who have combined for 64 domestic titles and 16 European Cups/Champions League titles.

However, some big names were missing, as the likes of Thomas Muller, Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale were still recuperating from their Euro 2016 campaigns.

Their absences left something to be desired on the pitch at MetLife, as chances were few and far between in the first hour of the match. 

The only one of note came in the 25th minute when Munich’s David Alaba’s free kick rang off the post. Munich only had two shots on target all match, which was just as many as Madrid’s total. 

Los Blancos finally increased the pressure in the 59th minute when a brilliant move found Alvaro Morata to the right of goal, but his attempt went wide. 

Just two minutes later, Isco unleashed a right-footed strike that beat Bayern keeper Sven Ulreich but not the left post, as it caromed away from danger. But Madrid managed to feed off that momentum and build it up to Danilo’s winner.

Mariano had a chance to ice the game during the second minute of stoppage time when he was alone to the left of Ulreich’s goal, but the keeper made a brilliant foot save to keep Bayern’s deficit at one.

Fresh off his hat trick against Inter Milan in Charlotte, North Carolina, Bayern Munich’s 21-year-old American center forward Julian Green had a much stiffer test Wednesday night against a Madrid back line that was starting three of its four defenders from the 2016 Champions League Final.

While he did go a full 90 minutes, he was significantly quieter, as he was unable to leave his mark on the match.

Real Madrid closed their ICC with a winning record after losing their opener to Paris Saint-Germain and beating Chelsea. 

They have little time to rest, as they have to go to Spain and meet rivals Sevilla on Tuesday for the UEFA Super Cup.

Bayern Munich, on the other hand, finished their ICC with two losses after a prior defeat to AC Milan in penalties. The Bavarians defeated Inter Milan in their second match of the tournament. 

They will also set their sights on gaining some silverware before the domestic season starts up, as they meet Borussia Dortmund in the DFL-Supercup Final on Aug. 14.

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