An entertaining 2-2 draw between Real Madrid and Bayern Munich in their first leg semifinal shows why Carlo Ancelotti’s side should never be counted out in the UEFA Champions League.
— When manager Thomas Tuchel was asked this week to assess Bayern Munich’s challenge against Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League semifinal he paused for a second before explaining they would not just be facing a team, but also a “myth.”
The Spanish giants have been so successful in Europe’s premier club tournament, he said, that it couldn’t simply be a case of talent and experience, but also something almost supernatural. Whatever it is that takes over Real Madrid in this competition was in evidence again at the Allianz Arena on Tuesday.
On a night of fine margins, Bayern edged the game by nearly every statistical measure. But yet when the second leg kicks off at the Santiago Bernabeu in eight days’ time, it will be Real Madrid in pole position to reach the final at Wembley in June thanks to a 2-2 draw secured in Munich. There’s no other team in the world that knows how to get over the line like Real Madrid in the Champions League and from here it would be a surprise if they didn’t finish the job in Spain next week and give themselves a chance of a record-extending 15th title.
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Afterwards, Tuchel was left frustrated, but he’s seen it all before. “Real Madrid have done it before, scoring two goals out of two chances,” he said in his post-match news conference.
“We are not the first team to which it happens. They are clinical and have the patience to wait for it. Real Madrid does this to teams so we should not be disappointed for too long.”
Delicately poised, this tie is not over and Bayern still have 90 minutes to turn it around.
