Juventus comeback stuns Bayern Munich in 2-2 Champions League draw

Both circumstances were equally astounding. Bayern Munich manufactured a commanding 2-0 lead over Juventus after 55 minutes in their Champions League round of 16 first leg on Tuesday in a convincing manner that has come to be expected from the Bundesliga power. Just as shocking was the way Bayern let that lead slip away, as Juve battled back to salvage a 2-2 home draw.

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Bayern Munich still has the advantage, with two precious away goals, going into the March 16 return leg at the Alllianz Arena. But that didn't diminish feelings of an opportunity lost by the Bavarians.

"We could have done better," Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer told reporters. "We lost our composure admidst all the chaos."

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Before the frantic 13-minute stretch that saw Juve pull even on goals by a pair of 22-year-olds – Paulo Dybala and substitute Stefano Sturaro – all had been calm for Pep Guardiola's side. Bayern Munich was doing Bayern Munich things in controlling the ball, enjoying 62 percent of possession in the first half and completing 370 first-half passes to Juventus' 132.

That dominance finally led to a Bayern breakthrough in the 43rd minute. Arjen Robben galloped down the right wing and floated a cross to the back post to Douglas Costa, who volleyed the ball back across the goal into the path of Thomas Muller. The German carefully placed his right-footed strike into the right corner for a 1-0 lead.

Ten minutes into the second half, Bayern looked to have put the game – and perhaps the tie – to bed with away goal No. 2. Robben finished off a counterattack with his trademark move, cutting in from the right wing and skipping into the center of the box to blast a left-footed strike past Gigi Buffon for a 2-0 lead.

Juventus had reasonable complaints on both Bayern goals as Lewandowski looked to be offside on the first and the Polish striker looked to have fouled Leonardo Bonucci in the build-up for the second. That didn't stop the Serie A champions from mounting a spirited comeback.

Dybala scored his first-ever Champions League goal to pull one back for Juve in the 63rd minute. Paul Pogba took advantage of a poor touch by Joshua Kimmich, Bayern's 21-year-old center back, to play Dybala into space for the predatory left-footed strike past Neuer.

The Juventus Stadium was rocking again 13 minutes later when substitutes Alvaro Morata and Stefano Sturaro combined on the equalizer.

The unusual situation of Guardiola having already announced his departure for Manchester City at season's end figured to be one of the few obstacles to a Bayern run to the May 28 Champions League final in Milan. The looming questions: Can the planet's most sought-after manager still motivate one of the world's most talented sides to European glory? Does the coach himself already have an eye toward his next adventure in England? A tale of two halves on Tuesday will only continue the speculation and uncertainty.

Despite the collapse in Turin, Bayern Munich remained upbeat. "We played very, very well," Philipp Lahm said. "We're in a good position."

"It's a shame we didn't win," Guardiola said. "But that's football."