Bayern Munich vs Real Madrid, The Most Frequent Clash in UCL Semifinals

 

Bayern Munich vs Real Madrid has been the most frequent duel in the Champions League semifinals, but their clash is not always exciting.

Bayern Munich and Real Madrid are set to meet again at the Champions League semifinals this week. It will be their eighth encounter in the tournament’s semifinal history, way ahead of the other fierce duels such as El Classico, Liverpool vs. Chelsea, or the most recent one, Real Madrid vs. Manchester City. Each clash only occurs three times.

Interestingly, the matches between Die Roten and Los Merengues in the last four have given equal results. Each side has clinched six wins and shared spoils twice. Their first encounters took place in 1976, when Franz Beckenbauer and Co. snatched a 3-1 victory on aggregate to get them through the final and eventually lift their third trophy in a row. Meanwhile, the last duel was six years ago, when Cristiano Ronaldo and Co saw off the Bavarians with a 3-2 win on aggregate, which also led to Los Blancos’s consecutive triumph in the final.

In between those two encounters, they squared off in 1987, 2000, 2001, 2012, and 2014. Bayern won the clashes in 1987, 2001, and 2012 to reach the summit, whereas Real Madrid eliminated them in 2000 and 2014. Among those duels, most were tight. Yet there were times when the duel became one-sided. Here are two contrastive ones from their meetings. Surprisingly, both were only staged in the last decade.

The Dullest Duel

Their duel in the 2013–14 continental campaign was probably the dullest one compared to the others. It was Bayern and Real Madrid’s first season under new bosses, Pep Guardiola and Carlo Ancelotti, respectively.

The first leg in Bernabeu was still quite even. Both sides had a number of shots on target. The home side hit the target more than the visitors. Yet, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Co. struck a lot more in total. Both shot stoppers, Casillas and Neuer, made equal saves. Yet, it was Madrid who scored the only goal of the game from Karim Benzema, who took advantage of Fabio Contreao’s pass from the left flank. The former French international, who was already at the mouth of the goal, slotted home at his mercy.

On the contrary, the second leg was disappointing for the German side. They were hapless and slumped to a heavy 4-0 defeat on their home turf. Despite having more shots in total, Guardiola’s men were unable to find the back of the net. They had already conceded three goals before the interval from Sergio Ramos’s brace andCristiano Ronaldo in less than 30 minutes. The Portuguese superstar finally sealed their berth in the final as he added his tally from a free kick. It was a 5-0 win on aggregate for Los Blancos, which eventually lifted their 10^th trophy.

Match statistics:

	Madrid vs Bayern 1-0 (1st leg)		Bayern vs Madrid 0-4 (2nd leg)
Shots on goal	5	4	4	5
Shots off target	3	5	7	6
Saves	4	4	1	4
Blocks	1	9	8	2

 

The Most Thrilling Duel

In contrast to the 2014 duel, the 2012 one was the most thrilling one. It was the only clash which had to be determined on penalties. At that time, Los Blancos was led by Jose Mourinho whereas Die Roten had Jupp Heynckes in the dugout.

In the first leg, Bayern played host first and they managed to optimize the home advantage. It was a tight affair as expected and both sides traded attacks and attempts before Franck Ribery opened the scoring in the 17^th minute. The former Werder Bremen man, Mesut Ozil, bagged an equalizer at the second half. When the game was about to end in a tie, Mario Gomez finally put in his on the score sheet a few minutes before the final whistle. It was a relief for the towering frontman as he was frustrated almost throughout the game.

In the reverse fixture, Real Madrid responded well by securing a narrow win with the same exact score 2-1. They did not waste their time to score. CR7 netted a brace in less than ten minutes. First, he did it from the penalty spot before he doubled his tally from a close range after receiving a through ball from Mesut Ozil. Bayern Munich soon replied in the 27^th minute from the penalty too. Arjen Robben took it well to level the aggregate. Both teams continued creating chances but the score remained the same, which led to the shootout.

Bayern started off well with David Alaba and Mario Gomez successfully found the back of the net. On the contrary, the home side failed in their first two shots as their two most expensive signings, Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka, had their penalty saved by Manuel Neuer. Madrid suddenly had a hope to turn it around as Casillas denied Toni Kroos’ and Phillip Lahm’s whereas Xabi Alonso scored. Unfortunately, Sergio Ramos blew it as his kick went off the crossbar. Bastian Schweinsteiger finally slotted it home and send them through the final. 

Match statistics:

	Bayern vs Madrid 2-1 (1st leg)		Madrid vs Bayern 2-1 (1-3) pen  (2nd leg)
Shots on goal	4	6	6	6
Shots off target	6	3	7	9
Saves	5	2	5	4
Blocks	5	6	2	5