After wasting opportunities in the home leg, Real Madrid hope the ghosts of the past don’t come haunting again when they take on Bayern Munich in the second leg of the UEFA Champions League semi-final in Munich.
After wasting opportunities in the home leg, Real Madrid hope the ghosts of the past don’t come haunting again when they take on Bayern Munich in the second leg of the UEFA Champions League semi-final in Munich. Cristiano Ronaldo and company come into this tie as more confident as ever with a thumping 4-0 win over Osasuna in the La Liga at the weekend. Many of its star players are returning back to form and most importantly, their biggest buy of the season, Gareth Bale could be available for the crucial second leg. Real Madrid take a 1-0 lead into the second leg of the semi-finals on Tuesday and will seek to use Bayern’s recent weakness in defending against counterattacks to its utmost advantage.
In the recent few games in the Bundesliga, Bayern have not been as dominant as they were in the earlier half and the German press has been quite critical of Pep Guardiola’s tactics going into this crucial Champions League tie. But one thing that will please the Bavarians is that the men from Spain have a poor record as far as Germany is concerned. With just two wins and 19 defeats and six draws, Real will have to prove the doubters wrong if they are to overpower the might Bayern Munich in their own backyard.
Real have eliminated Bundesliga sides Schalke and Borussia Dortmund en route to the semi-finals and will be bidding to add Bayern into their bags as well. No Club has ever retained the UEFA Champions League but with this Bayern side, everything is possible. With Bayern who are bidding to reach their fourth Champions League final in five years, the visitors can expect a warm welcome from the home fans in the cauldron of the 70,000-capacity Allianz Arena.
Pep Guardiola’s men will have the ‘X’ factor with the likes of Arjen Robben, Franck Ribery and Thomas Mueller flying down the flanks of the opposition team. But in the Real Madrid’s corner, their manager Carlo Ancelotti will have good news as the gaffer is expected to play his lethal BBC in attack — Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Players to watch:
Bayern Munich – Franck Ribery without a doubt. The Frenchman who was rather peeved at the FIFA’ decision to hand over the Ballon d’Or to Cristiano Ronaldo, has the perfect stage to prove why the Footballing Head body made the wrong decision. The mercurial winger has all the skills that could prove menacing to the opposition defence.
Real Madrid – Cristiano Ronaldo is the pick here as the Portuguese is in sublime form at the moment. With a record of 14 UCL goals this season, the FIFA Ballon d’Or winner could add a bit more to his tally and land his team a final berth.
Result – 2-1 to Bayern Munich (Real Madrid to go through on away goals)
