On to part two of the Champions League semi-finals. In this match-up we get the pleasure of a purely competitive European slugfest. Bayern Munich hails from the Bundesliga League in Germany, and travels to Madrid to face the most popular and most supported team around the world, Real Madrid. In a back and forth match-up last week, Munich edged out a 2-1 victory off of goals from Franck Ribery and a late 90' notch from leading scorer Mario Gomez. Madrid answered in between these goals with a Mesut Ozil knock. This game is even harder than the Barca-Chelsea game to pick for me, in terms of the absurdity of depth both teams possess. Bayern Munich needs to have at least one goal in this, in order to tie the away goal rule in order of a tie-breaker. Madrid plays out of their minds at home, as the Bernabeu stadium has been called home over the many rich year of their history to numerous famous names like Beckham, Raul, both Ronaldo's, Zinedine Zidane (headbutter), and Kaka. Madrid also are valued as a top 3 club in terms of wealth, which translates into much success and top-form players. Bayern Munich on the other hand has proven themselves to be a top prestigious team not only in Germany, but also on the European stage. They boast top players like Arjen Robben, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Franck Ribery, Mario Gomez, Toni Kroos, and Luis Gustavo, to only name a few.
Keys to the Game:
Real Madrid:
Madrid has to continue defending against the Munich frontline of attackers. Cristiano Ronaldo stated that by taking away Munich's front-most weapons, (Ribery, Robben, Gomez, Muller) Madrid has a great opportunity to be victorious. While Madrid comes home, they still have to realize that they are playing with their backs against the wall and can not let an overly offensive attack be easily reverted into a Munich counter-attack. Munich like to run a fast paced offense, and can slow down and fatigue Madrid's defenders if they are not wary of their defensive assignments. The key to Real's victory will be their ability to utilize their immense depth in every positioning level. Madrid's attack will be obviously based off of Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema's abilities to make plays all over the scoring area. That tandem will be assisted on the wings by a large supporting cast including Mesut Ozil, Angel di Maria, and Gonzalo Higuain. The center attack will be cornerstoned by the talents of Xabi Alonso and Kaka, one of the world's greatest players. Madrid can overcome their deficit by sticking to their offensive game-plan and coach Jose Morinho's fantastic mindset for the game allows their substitution tactics to influence outcomes of their games.
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| CR7 leads Madrid into battle |
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| Mario Gomez takes his prolific scoring resume into Madrid in hopes of advancing |
Munich will again call upon their talented offensive powerhouse, Mario Gomez to continue their success from the last game. As stated before, Gomez will be assisted by the tremendous Dutch-international Arjen Robben, who knows the Madrid system well, as he formerly played for Madrid. The midfield play of Bastian Schweinsteiger and Guztavo open up opportunities for Gomez and Robben, and allow them to run free all over the scoring area. The amount of European and international experience is on Munich's side here. Most of their starting lineup plays for the German national team, and gel together very well. The key to Munich's success will be frustrating CR7. When Ronaldo is slowed down and visually shaken, Madrid can follow suit easily and slip into making costly mistakes. Mario Gomez has stated that Madrid's allure has been shattered by their game last week, and now it is up to the Munich team to build off of this huge momentum swing.
Prediction:
Too tough to call right now. I predict another low scoring match either ending 1-1 or 2-1 Madrid. Just have to see at this point.
I think Bayern Munich has the best chance to win the agg. Madrid is a powerhouse at home, but lets not forget that Barcalona did beat Madrid the last 2 times at the Bernabeu. Munich has it though if they keep (my boy) Bastian Schweinsteiger in for the majority of the game. He has been fighting injury, but I feel that the best way to beat a Spanish team is with strong mid-field so they have no room to set up runs. If Munich can keep the possession close to game 1 (55%-45% Bayren) they will host Chelsea at their home pitch, Allianz Arena.
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