By Rosemary Ugiomoh
Bayern Munich welcome Real Madrid to the Allianz Arena on Wednesday night for the second leg of their Champions League quarterfinal. Bayern lead 2-1 from the first leg in Madrid and come in on a 15-game winning streak in all competitions, the latest being a 5-0 Bundesliga win over St. Pauli on Saturday. Several key players were rested for that match with this tie in mind.
In the first leg, Bayern were the stronger team but lacked a clinical edge. After going ahead, they eased off in the second half and let Madrid stay in the tie. Michael Olise stood out with another big performance and tormented Alvaro Carreras. With six assists, Olise leads the competition, and Bayern will likely target Madrid’s vulnerable left-back area again through the Frenchman on the right.
The main concern for Bayern is their high defensive line. With Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior’s pace, plus Trent Alexander-Arnold’s long passing, they’ll need to stay switched on at the back. Leon Goretzka said the squad knows exactly what Madrid can do: “You could see how quickly they can generate scoring chances. No one needs to warn us. We know it ourselves.”
Joshua Kimmich, who played the full 90 in Madrid, dismissed Madrid’s poor league form as irrelevant: “It doesn’t matter what shape they are in. When the Champions League comes, they perform.” Sporting director Max Eberl echoed the caution, calling it “controlled euphoria.” He added, “We have a good starting position, but we also know that we are not yet qualified.”
Real Madrid arrive after a 1-1 draw with Girona in LaLiga, leaving them nine points behind leaders Barcelona with seven games left. That makes the Champions League even more crucial. Carlo Ancelotti’s side can take confidence from their record in Munich — three wins and a draw in their last four visits. But they’ll need a much better display at both ends. They have to be more clinical to beat Manuel Neuer, who was excellent in the first leg, and protect their full-backs from Olise and Luis Diaz.
Bayern are missing youngster Lennart Karl and backup goalkeeper Sven Ulreich through injury. For Madrid, Thibaut Courtois and Rodrygo are out injured, and Aurelien Tchouameni is suspended.
Bayern are favorites to go through, especially if they repeat the level they showed in the first hour in Madrid. Still, no one in their camp is taking anything for granted against a Real Madrid side that always turns up in the Champions League.
