Beating Real Madrid will write so many wrongs for Bayern Munich

For many teams, winning a domestic league and cup double is satisfactory enough to equate a season to a successful one even going by the loftiest standards.
However, the greed and hunger of the top clubs in football is that any trophy lost leaves an empty feeling. This sentiment is common in the cities of Barcelona and Manchester.
The two giants are almost guaranteed two titles this season but the manner of their Uefa Champions’ League exits last week must still hurt deeply.
Barcelona have a Copa del Rey final against Sevilla tonight. Sevilla’s last victory was against Manchester United in the Champions League and are now on a seven-match winless streak.
There seems to be one winner. The same is prominent in Germany where Bayern have already wrapped up the Bundesliga title and have a DFB Pokal final to come.
Like Barcelona and Man City, the perfect script can only be written by winning the Big Ears where Bayern face Real Madrid in the semifinals over the next 11 days.
Such has been Real’s dominance over Bayern in recent years and their unrelenting surge to a third European title that the latter will be underdogs.
Europe’s most regular fixture, has had Real win the last two meetings, the 2013/14 semifinals and the 2016/17 quarterfinals.
This stat is one Bayern would love to rewrite in Juup Heynckes’ swansong as he has rebuilt a season that tittered on the brink of disaster under Carlo Ancelotti.
If there is one fundamental thing Heynckes can learn from Bayern’s tame loss at the hands of Real last year, it must the waning abilities of winners Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben.

Oldest in CL
When Real knocked out Bayern, the latter’s average age as per the starting line-up was 30 years and 116 days, making it their oldest in Champions League history.
Now age may not be the problem as experience is critical at this stage. On the flip side, you cannot have players who cannot track back against the excellent wing play of Real. It borders on disrespect as Marcelo and Cristiano Ronaldo on the left side and whoever Zinedine Zidane picks to partner Dani Carvajal on the right need doubling up. It was utterly wrong.
Club chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge threw down the gauntlet to Real Madrid ahead of Wednesday’s home first leg.
“We have to keep our concentration until next Wednesday, but if anyone can beat Real Madrid at the moment, it’s FC Bayern,” boasted Rummenigge.
“To be a FC Bayern fan must be paradise at the moment.” Paradise? Not quite. Losing to Real Madrid will feel like hell.

GERMAN bundesliga

TODAY’s FIXTURES
Leipzig vs. Hoffenheim (World, 4.30PM)
Frankfurt vs. Hertha Berlin (Arena, 4.30PM)
Hamburg vs. Freiburg (Focus, 4.30PM)
Hannover vs. Bayern (Premium, 4.30PM)
Stuttgart vs. Bremen (Life, 4.30PM)
Dortmund vs. Leverkusen (World, 7.30PM)
TOMORROW
Augsburg vs. Mainz (Focus, 4.30PM)
Köln vs. Schalke (World, 7PM)