Beating Real at the Bernabéu, an impossible mission for Bayern?

Crowned Spanish champions this weekend, Real Madrid have history on their side for the Champions League semi-final return against Bayern Munich on Wednesday (9:00 p.m.). He has been undefeated for more than a year at his Santiago Bernabéu stadium.

If with its 14 continental crowns, Real Madrid is indeed the King of Europe, its Santiago Bernabéu stadium, in its finally finished metal setting, is its fortress. A legendary venue, scene of the “magical nights” which forged its legend and the irrational “comebacks” of 2022, on the way to its last coronation, against PSG, Chelsea and Manchester City.

This season, everyone, including City, defending champion, and FC Barcelona, ​​reigning Spanish champion, have failed, even after leading the score, joining the long list of victims of the Madrid giant.

A statistic also sums up the extent of the Bavarian challenge, which nevertheless retains all its chances after its draw (2-2) in Munich in the first leg. Undefeated since April 2023 on its lawn, the Merengue club has qualified in its stadium 23 times in the last 24 C1 knockout confrontations (since 1991) after drawing in the first leg.

“Brain teaser”

“90 minutes at the Bernabéu is a very long time, for many reasons. In fact, we expect to play several games in one,” summed up Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola before the quarter-final first leg (3-3), during which Real came back to the score even though they were led 3-2 in the second half.

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“Every time we give Real Madrid for dead, we always find a way to come back,” summed up Brazilian striker Vinicius after Real’s qualification at the end of the night and the penalty shootout in Manchester.

Always serene, like its coach Carlo Ancelotti, even when things do not go in its favor, the Madrid club has once again become a formidable machine for winning, and above all for not losing. A real “headache”, against whom “giving your best version is not enough”, estimates the sports daily Marca.

“The Whites are developing a resistance to defeat in any circumstance that makes them terribly difficult to face,” the newspaper added.

Their European journey illustrates this insolent solidity well: Ancelotti’s men are now one match away from Wembley and an improbable chance of a treble, having so far won only one of their five matches in the elimination phase, against Leipzig in the first leg (1-0).

A “dangerous” Bayern

To reach a new final and offer themselves a fifteenth Cup with big ears, the Merengues will however have to do better than in Munich, warned the Italian technician last week, welcoming a German team “dangerous and at its best level”, taken by its two internationals Leroy Sané and Jamal Musiala and the English striker Harry Kane.

The return from suspension of the Spanish full-back Dani Carvajal should help a little to contain the breakthroughs with the ball at the foot of Musiala, while the defensive work of Jude Bellingham will be key to allow Ferland Mendy to slow down the excesses of Sané, scorer at the Allianz Arena.

Offensively, the English midfielder, who became the providential man in the White House at just 20 years old (22 goals, 10 assists, often at key moments), will be particularly scrutinized even though he was diminished in the first leg and n could not influence the meeting.

Bayern for their part only has the Champions League left to save their season, after having ceded the league title, for the first time since 2013, to Bayer Leverkusen. Thomas Tuchel, forced by the Munich management to leave at the end of the season, hopes to be able to count on the return of the boss of his defense, Matthijs de Ligt, to avoid the defensive errors which brought the two Madrid goals to the Allianz Arena.

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ATS