Andrea Pirlo gave the Rossoneri a deserved lead after 40 minutes as the home side dominated.

Daniel van Buyten replied after 78 minutes with Bayern’s first serious attack, but a penalty looked to have given Milan the advantage as Kaka slotted away the spot-kick to make it 2-1 in the 84th minute.

But there was more drama to come as, with the last kick of the game, Van Buyten scored his, and Bayern’s, second to give the Bavarians two away goals and the advantage for the return leg in Munich next Wednesday.

Milan were straight on the attack with Marek Jankulovski probing down the left wing and sending in a low cross which Clarence Seedorf was just inches away from reaching.

Michael Rensing, in the Bayern goal in place of the suspended Oliver Kahn, then took centre stage with a string of fine saves to keep the scores level.

First, he instinctively tipped a Massimo Ambrosini shot over the crossbar from point blank range before denying Alberto Gilardino with another reflex save from a Massimo Oddo cross.

All Bayern could muster in the first half an hour was a speculative 30-yard effort from Andreas Ottl which Dida tipped over the bar for safety.

Brazil captain Lucio made the slightest of contacts with the ball in challenging his countryman Kaka after 40 minutes, but although Bayern avoided a penalty by a hair’s breadth, they were soon to be punished nonetheless.

From the resultant corner, the ball was played back to Oddo who lifted the ball back over the Bayern defence where Pirlo had beaten the offside trap to head over Rensing and just under the crossbar.

On the balance of play, it was a goal which Milan merited since they had shown the greater ambition with Jankulovski providing a useful outlet down the left.

It was the same determined Milan which took to the field for the second half.

Gilardino thought he had doubled the advantage when he chased Pirlo’s pass and lobbed over Rensing into the net, but the whistle had long since gone and the Italy striker, who had not heard the whistle amid the expectant cheers of 67,500 fans, was booked for kicking the ball away.

If only Kaka had tried to kick the ball, in any way, he would almost certainly have found the goal from another teasing Jankulovski cross minutes later.

The visitors only proposed one way to goal, and that was straight over the top for Roy Makaay to chase.

The only time it worked, Alessandro Nesta was able to hold off Makaay with ease.

Bayern coach Ottmar Hitzfeld had to do something and he acted with just over 20 minutes remaining, bringing Claudio Pizarro on for the lacklustre Lukas Podolski.

The Peruvian’s arrival lifted the Bavarians and within 10 minutes they were level.

Oddo and Pizarro both challenged for the ball from Hasan Salihamidzic’s cross and the ball fell off the Milan defender’s head to the feet of Van Buyten, who turned to slot the ball past Dida from close range.

Russian referee Iouri Baskakov then awarded a penalty to Milan six minutes from time. Again, it was a duel between Kaka and Lucio, but this time Baskakov pointed to the spot.

Kaka stepped up to place the ball into the bottom corner and restore Milan’s advantage.

But with the final kick of the game, Van Buyten reached Roque Santa Cruz’s header at the far post to lash the ball inside Dida’s near post and give Bayern what could be a crucial share of the spoils.