Before the match, Real Madrid fans were confident that their team would get the job done against a struggling Bayern Munich side who had not been in the league themselves this season. The truth is that it was still going to be difficult. No team reaches the semi-finals of the Champions League without being good and beating the best teams. Bayern showed what they were capable of in a knockout match when they took on Arsenal – one of the best teams in the world this season – and beat them quite convincingly.
It doesn’t matter how well they performed in the league, just as it doesn’t matter how poor Real Madrid performed in the league in 2017-18 – the year they won their third consecutive Champions League title. All that matters is their history, their quality and their results. This competition. And in this competition, Bayern were convincing. Real Madrid should still qualify, because if they can beat Manchester City, they should be able to face Bayern at the Bernabeu, but you never know. Bayern are no pushovers, and they showed that in the first leg.
“Bayern presented their best version, but not us,” Carlo Ancelotti said after Tuesday’s match. The result is in favor of Real Madrid, because although they were not at their best, they go to the Bernabeu with a clean slate. Regardless, the road ahead remains difficult.
First things first: Real Madrid gave Bayern Munich too much respect, especially in the first 20 minutes of the first half and then when they conceded those two goals. Real Madrid did not put their foot on the pedal and it cost them dearly. There were some defensive leaks which they were lucky not to concede – the half-spaces and flanks were used really well by Bayern.
Ferland Mendy, back after two games away, struggled for the first time in months against a good winger in Leroy Sané, with not as much support as he would have liked. On the other side, Lucas Vazquez struggled to keep up with a fierce Jamal Musiala, and even though Dani Carvajal will inevitably return in the second leg, it will still be a very difficult task for him to lock down Musiala, especially with Bayern’s franchise on wings. It’s very different having Jeremy Doku/Jack Grealish there, but of course it’s Carvajal at the end of the day; it will be a balanced match.
If Real Madrid are to win at the Bernabeu – which they fully intend to do – they need to do a better job of cleaning up their mess in these areas. It is vital that they support each other to close the gaps, because although Bayern missed their chances this time around, they could be more clinical at the Bernabeu. Harry Kane has been exceptional and he will continue to send those passes to the wingers, so Real Madrid need to go back diligently and make improvements.
Say what you want about him. Thomas Tuchel remains an exceptional coach in knockout matches, and Real Madrid must realize this. We’ve seen him do similar things with Chelsea, PSG and Dortmund in the past. Bayern may not be much different.
Eduardo Camavinga’s arguments for starting the return match
Another thing that Real Madrid lacked on Tuesday was mobility in midfield. This changed with the introduction of Eduardo Camavinga (and later Luka Modric) in the second half, but The Whites someone still had to move while Bayern pressed them. The midfield looked a little stagnant at times, which allowed Bayern to put a lot of pressure on Real.
I have said several times that Aurélien Tchouameni should start in central defense even if he is better in pivot, and I really think that this should be the case in the second leg. It helps with a bit more physicality at the back and a bit more mobility in midfield.
This is not a knock on Tchouameni as a pivot. He is the better pivot of the two, but Camavinga tends to move around a bit more than him, which could be very useful, especially against this Bayern team.
The greatness of Vinicius Junior
Against Bayern Munich, Vinicius Jr put in one of his best performances this season when he completely torched Kim Min Jae and the rest of his defense while playing in a position no one would have expected him to play there. three years ago. Vinicius Jr was electric against Bayern, and he proved it with two crucial goals that put Real Madrid in a relatively comfortable position for the second leg.
Vini’s decoy run towards Toni Kroos, only for him to then make a smart run into space behind the Bayern defensive line, and for Kroos to open up the Bayern defense with a perfectly weighted pass, was nothing short of brilliant . That’s the kind of thing you have to do on a big Champions League night: take your chances and create chances out of nothing.
Real Madrid have a gem in Vinicius Jr. This is not news. What is perhaps new is that he is already the fifth top scorer in the Champions League with 20 goals. He has 111 goals in the last three seasons combined, which is crazy, and he’s just three assists short of the most in Champions League round of 16 history, which is even more mad. He is also one of three players to have scored or assisted in a semi-final in three consecutive Champions League campaigns. To realize all this before the age of 25 is absolutely mind-boggling to me.
Those are decent stats for someone who has been ridiculed for his decision-making and output in the final third. We’re seeing Vinicius disrespected way too much these days, and for all the wrong reasons. It’s time for that to change, and it’s time for everyone to start respecting their name.
Vini, for lack of a better expression, is him.
