Bayern Munich hosted cup kings Real Madrid for a European competition record 25th time last week. Prior to kickoff, both teams had made a strong case for being favourites to win the tie. Bayern Munich have had a resurgent season ever since Jupp Heynckes replaced Carlo Ancelotti. Madrid, on the other hand, proved their worth by holding off Juventus despite throwing away a 3-0 aggregate lead, before Cristiano Ronaldo scored a last minute penalty to take them through to the semi-finals. In this fixture, it was Madrid who yet again managed to secure a win after coming back from a goal down to win 2-1. It was a game in which Bayern had the upper hand but their lack of clinical finishing plus a mistake from Rafinha gifted Zinedine Zidanes men an advantage going into the 2nd leg.
Lineups
Similar approaches, Different processes
A few weeks ago I did an analysis between Germany and Spain in which I highlighted how similar their approaches were in and out of possession:
It was quite obvious for everyone watching the game that both teams had highly skilled players who were all comfortable in possession. So the question coming into this fixture was which team would take the initiative (and risk) and take control, and which team would play a more passive role throughout the contest.
In a way, the
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