Champions League – Semi-finals – Bayern Munich – Real Madrid, a duel that has become legendary

Bayern – Real, it’s a classic. A poster which immediately evokes the Champions League and for good reason: the two teams have faced each other 26 times in the Champions League, and eight times at the semi-final stage alone. The outcome? 12 victories for Bayern, 11 for Real, and 3 draws. But several matches have become legendary.

Transferred in the summer of 1999 from Arsenal, Nicolas Anelka would play the executioner of Bayern in the semi-finals in the spring of 2000, scoring his only two goals in the competition. In Madrid, he opened the scoring in the 4th minute, launched from deep by Raul. The Madrilenians won this first round 2-0 in their Santiago Bernabeu stadium. In the return match in the Olympic stadium in Munich, while the Munich supporters regained hope by Carsten Jancker in the first quarter of an hour, the 21-year-old Frenchman took a Savio cross with an uncrossed header to leave Oliver no chance Khan.

With the away goal rule, Bayern must then score three times and Giovane Elber’s goal will not be enough to reverse the trend. Real would then win the final against Valencia 3-0 at the Stade de France.

In 2012, the Champions League final took place at the Allianz Arena, Bayern’s home for seven seasons. Jupp Heynckes’ men then have only one objective: to eliminate Real Madrid in the semi-finals. The double confrontation is off to a good start with a 2-1 home victory in Munich. But the return match started in the worst possible way with a double from Cristiano Ronaldo in the first quarter of an hour. Arjen Robben puts the Munich team back in the race before the half-hour mark and the fate of the half will be decided during a memorable penalty shootout.

Manuel Neuer, the best goalkeeper in the world at the time at the top of his game, cracked Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka at the start of the session. After the failures of Toni Kroos and Philipp Lahm, the Madrilenians can return to equality thanks to Sergio Ramos, who sends his shot into the sky of Madrid. It was the Bavarian by birth Bastian Schweinsteiger who qualified Bayern for a home final, which the Munich residents ultimately lost against Chelsea on… penalties, during which “Schweini” failed against Petr Cech as Munich’s last shooter .

On the way to his three consecutive Champions League crowns as coach of Real Madrid (2016, 2017 and 2018), Zinédine Zidane eliminated Bayern twice, having eliminated the Munich club in 2002 and 2004, respectively in quarters and eighths, as a player. In 2017, the Madrilenians had to resort to extra time to eliminate the German club in the quarter-finals, despite a victory in Munich 2-1 in the first leg.

On an own goal from Sergio Ramos in the last ten minutes, the Munich players snatched an additional thirty minutes, during which Cristiano Ronaldo, twice, and Marco Asensio folded the match in seven minutes between the 105th and 112th minutes. The following year, Munich and Madrid met in the semi-finals. Real won 2-1 at the Allianz Arena and this time avoided extra time on the return leg, thanks to a double from Karim Benzema to save the draw (2-2).