ANKARA
The UEFA Champions League semifinals will begin on Tuesday with the Bayern Munich vs. Real Madrid thriller.
Bayern Munich will host record holders Real Madrid in the first leg of the semifinal at the Allianz Arena as the German team wants to end their long drought against the Whites.
This season, Thomas Tuchel’s Bayern Munich upset their fans as they lost the 2024 German Bundesliga title to Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen in previous weeks, a rare habit for Bayern. Leverkusen won their first-ever Bundesliga title to end Bayern’s 11-year grip on it.
Tuchel was confirmed to leave Bayern Munich at the end of the season, but their Champions League title hopes are still alive.
Bayern Munich won the Champions League six times, with their last triumph in 2020. Real Madrid won Europe’s top-tier title 14 times, the most recent in 2022.
The sides did not meet every season in the Champions League, but Bayern last eliminated Real Madrid to reach the 2012 final. But England’s Chelsea won the 2012 title on penalties against Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena.
In head-to-head comparison, Real Madrid, who were led by Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo at the time, have beaten Bayern in Champions League knockout ties since 2014.
Real Madrid were unbeaten in their last seven matches against Bayern (six wins, one draw).
Tuesday’s Bayern vs. Real Madrid clash will begin at 1900 GMT.
The second leg will be played in Madrid on May 8.
Dortmund to face PSG again
On Wednesday, Germany’s Borussia Dortmund will host French club Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), which is the other tie of the semifinal.
PSG secured the 2024 French title on Sunday with three games to spare to be fully focused on their European campaign.
Both Dortmund and PSG met earlier this season. PSG won 2-0 in a Group F game at home in September, but then Luis Enrique’s men drew at Dortmund 1-1 in the matchday six in December.
Dortmund were into the last 16 from Group F, called “the Group of Death” for its high-profile competitors, before PSG joined the German club in the knockout phase.
PSG are on hunt for their first Champions League title, as the French giants were the 2020 finalists. PSG were beaten by Bayern Munich 1-0 in Lisbon to be the runners-up in the pandemic year.
Dortmund won the Champions League once, in 1997. They were the 2013 runners-up.
The Dortmund vs. PSG fixture at Signal Iduna Park will kick off at 1900GMT.
The teams will travel to Paris for the second leg on May 7.
The 2024 Champions League final will be held at London’s iconic Wembley Stadium on June 1.
Source AA