Everything at stake as Madrid and Bayern meet in the Champions League semi-finals

Real Madrid and Bayern Munich will meet in the second leg of the Champions League semi-finals under the lights of the Santiago Bernabéu on Wednesday, marking the 28th chapter of their historic rivalry.

In their recent match at the Allianz Arena, the two giants tied 2-2, leaving the match wide open.

The result of this match will determine who advances to face Borussia Dortmund or Paris Saint-Germain in the final battle.

Real Madrid, no stranger to Bavarian dreams of Champions League glory, endured an early storm in Munich last week.

They dealt a decisive blow with a Vinicius Junior-inspired goal in the first half, but the Brazilian became their savior in the final moments of the second half.

Leroy Sané’s explosive shot at the near post and Harry Kane’s calm penalty completely changed the dynamic of the first leg.

However, when Kim Min-jae’s recklessness led to a foul on Rodrygo inside the area, Vinicius’ second goal of the night left the semi-final hanging on a knife’s edge.

Just four days after their trip to Bavaria, Carlo Ancelotti’s reserve team claimed a record La Liga title.

They quickly overcame Cádiz with a 3-0 victory and then watched as Girona defeated their closest rival Barcelona, ​​cementing their claim to the trophy for the 36th time.

Only Juventus has won so many titles in the history of the major European leagues.

Real Madrid’s singular objective now is to add a 15th Champions League title to its illustrious cabinet.

They are eager to return to the Bernabeu for European nights, where they have scored in 28 consecutive Champions League matches since a shock 3-0 loss to CSKA Moscow in December 2018.

Los Blancos have impressively navigated their last 20 games without a single defeat since their elimination from the Copa del Rey in January at the hands of local rivals Atlético Madrid.

As Wednesday’s match approaches, it will have been exactly 13 months since Real Madrid last suffered a home defeat in any competition.

With only one of them, Real Madrid or Bayern Munich, able to finish the season with top-flight and Champions League titles, the visitors from Germany have had a challenging season, losing control of the German crown. league against Bayer Leverkusen and without being able to secure even a title. finish in the top three.

Despite a good end to the Bundesliga campaign, with three consecutive victories before Saturday’s match against Stuttgart, Thomas Tuchel’s team faced a setback with a 3-1 defeat, opening the race for second place.

Kane’s 36th goal of the Bundesliga season, scored from the penalty spot, brought little consolation to Bayern, whose injury crisis deepened with the losses of defensive stalwarts Eric Dier and Raphael Guerreiro at the MHPArena.

This worrying development added to their defensive difficulties away from home.

Bayern’s problems on the road are evident as they have failed to keep a clean sheet in 2024 since their last game against Manchester United in December.

They have conceded multiple goals in eight of their last ten away games, managing only three wins during this dismal period.

The defensive problems extend even further for Bayern, who have gone 16 games without keeping a clean sheet against Real Madrid.

Furthermore, they have never defeated Carlo Ancelotti in nine previous meetings with the esteemed Real Madrid manager, marking a record winless streak against a specific manager in the Champions League.

Real Madrid had more reasons to celebrate at the weekend, with the return of Thibaut Courtois from his second knee injury of the season.

The hero of the 2022 Champions League final will also replace Andriy Lunin in goal on Wednesday.

The return of Courtois and the availability of Dani Carvajal after a European sanction leave former Bayern defender David Alaba as the only absentee that Ancelotti must consider for the second leg.

A significant overhaul is expected after Ancelotti fielded a second-line eleven in Cádiz’s victory.

Players like Vinicius, Jude Bellingham, Rodrygo, Toni Kroos and Federico Valverde will return to the starting lineup.

However, Don Carlo is likely to avoid starting Eder Militao, who is still regaining match fitness after his ACL injury.

On Bayern’s part, the injury list remains long.

Guerreiro is expected to miss the rest of the season due to an ankle injury suffered against Stuttgart.

Meanwhile, Eric Dier, who was suffering from a slight thigh injury, was substituted at half-time in the same match, but his replacement was as a precaution.

He is expected to play a role in Wednesday’s game.

Furthermore, Matthijs de Ligt is about to return from a knee problem, which could strengthen Tuchel’s team.

However, Kingsley Coman will remain sidelined with a groin injury, while Sacha Boey (hip), Bouna Sarr (ACL) and Tarek Buchmann (hamstring) will also be unavailable for the second leg.