Bayern Munich will meet Real Madrid in the quarterfinals of the Champions League, starting April 12 in Munich. Here’s what to expect during this matchup of Europe’s elite.
The Champions League is a beautifully fierce tournament. The best clubs in the world come together to battle it out, which usually provides some heavyweight matchups in the latter stages of the competition.
But rarely is a quarterfinal as star-studded as this year’s between Bayern Munich and Real Madrid, unquestionably two of the most dominant three teams in the world. Real own a record 11 Champions League titles, while Bayern have won the competition five times. This is about as big as club soccer gets, so get excited.
How did they get here?
Coming into their Champions League tie both, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich have both been quietly great throughout this season. Under new boss Carlo Ancelotti, Bayern have been nothing short of extraordinary over the past several months, after struggling to shake off the challenge of RB Leipzig in the first half of the Bundesliga season.
Such are the expectations in Munich, however, their performances will mean little without silverware. Bayern are trying to make their first Champions League final since 2012-13, having fallen at the semifinal stage three years in a row under former manager Pep Guardiola.
In the round of 16, they thrashed Arsenal 10-2 on aggregate. The Gunners gave up after seeing captain Laurent Koscielny sent off in the second leg, but even so, 10 goals against a seasoned Champions League team like Arsenal is a remarkable achievement, and as concise an explanation as any why even Real Madrid should fear Bayern. Bayern are also coming off a dominant, confidence-boosting win against Borussia Dortmund, who they thrashed 4-1 at the weekend.
The story is much the same for Real Madrid, who currently sit three points clear at the top of La Liga with a game in hand, but who will be judged only on the number of trophies they win. After running out to a big lead in the table earlier in the season, however, Los Blancos have been inconsistent since the turn of the year. They dropped points in consecutive matches against Valencia and Las Palmas in late February to allow Barcelona back into the title race, and conceded a late goal to draw against Atletico Madrid this weekend.
Their quality isn’t in question with Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema leading the way, but they aren’t playing as well as Bayern domestically, and have lost something of their air of invincibility from earlier in the season.
In the round of 16, they beat Napoli 6-2 over two legs, an excellent result against one of Europe’s most underrated sides. But they pushed their luck at times, especially in the second leg, when they fell behind in the first half to a Dries Mertens goal and were generally pegged back by Napoli’s forward line. Sergio Ramos saved the day, as he has so often for Real in this competition, with a headed goal in the 51st minute, while Alvaro Morata, who could be a big difference-maker off the bench in this tie, added a third in second-half stoppage time.
How will they play?
It’s easy to focus on the star-studded attackers that are featured in this fixture. The names are a who’s who of European soccer royalty: Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale, Arjen Robben, Robert Lewandowski, Luka Modric, Thiago Alcantara, Toni Kroos … the list goes on.
What will likely define the tie, however, will be the battle for control in midfield. Real’s Modric, Kroos and Casemiro will match up against Bayern’s Arturo Vidal, Xabi Alonso and Thiago. In terms of talent, that’s about as much of a toss up as you can imagine, but Bayern can probably be expected to shade the possession battle, while Real play more on the break.
Zinedine Zidane will want his side to spring Ronaldo, Bale and Benzema in attack as quickly as possible as they look to expose the space left by Bayern’s attack-minded full-backs, David Alaba and Philipp Lahm.
This is a massive fixture for Bale. He could truly test and stretch the Bayern defense on the flanks. Ronaldo remains Real’s biggest scoring threat, but he’s not as explosive as he once was, which means Bale will shoulder a lot of responsibility driving Real up the pitch.
For Bayern, the key players will be Lewandowski and Thiago. The former is arguably Europe’s best center forward right now, while Thiago has developed under Ancelotti into one of the best attacking midfielders in the world. If those two can find space consistently, Bayern should be favorite.
Next: Champions League QF preview: Leicester vs. Atletico Madrid
Prediction
I see Bayern Munich advancing in this fixture. Their midfield is almost irresistible at the moment, while their defense, even without the injured Mats Hummels, is stronger. Bayern will also benefit from the fact they don’t have to worry too much about the Bundesliga, where they hold a 10-point lead.
Bayern will likely control the pace of the game with their midfield, and while it’s almost impossible to pick who has the better attack, the German side are stronger in defense and in better form.
Bayern Munich 4-3 Real Madrid