LONDON: Bayern Munich’s Champions League semifinal against Real Madrid is a clash of European football royalty. Ahead of Wednesday’s first leg at the Allianz Arena, here are five facts about the remarkable rivalry...
1. This is the 25th time the clubs have met in European competition and both have 11 wins with two draws.
Real have scored 37 goals to Bayern’s 36.
This is the seventh time the clubs have met in the semifinals, the Germans lead 4-2 in the series.
2. Real have however had the upper hand in recent years, winning all of the last five meetings, scoring 13 goals and conceding four.
That includes Bayern’s record home defeat in Europe — a 4-0 thrashing in the 2014 semifinals, when Sergio Ramos and Cristiano Ronaldo both scored twice.
This is Madrid’s record eighth successive Champions League semifinal, while Bayern are in the last four for the seventh time in nine seasons.
3. Ronaldo has an incredible record against Bayern, netting five times over the two legs in last season’s 6-3 aggregate win in the quarterfinals.
In total, he has scored nine goals in six games against the German side.
This season, Ronaldo became the first player to score in all six group games on his way to a tally of 15 goals.
He can break his own record for the most goals in a Champions League season — 17 in 2013/14.
4. Bayern’s current manager Jupp Heynckes has a foot in each camp. The 72-year-old has reached the Champions League final in each of his three previous campaigns as coach of either Bayern or Real.
Under Heynckes, Bayern won the 2013 final at Wembley when Arjen Robben’s winner sealed a 2-1 win over Dortmund on their way to the treble.
The Bavarians also reached the 2012 final, losing in Munich to Chelsea on penalties having beaten Real, also on spot-kicks, in the semis.
Heynckes also steered Real to the 1997-1998 title, during his single season in Madrid, beating Juventus 1-0 in the Amsterdam final to end a 32-year drought for the Spanish giants. It was the first time Madrid had won the European Cup since 1966.
5. Zinedine Zidane has a phenomenal Champions League record. Real winning 21 of his 30 games in Europe over three seasons with five draws and four defeats.
Real lifted the trophy in each of his three previous seasons as either head coach or assistant.
He was Carlo Ancelotti’s assistant in 2013/14 when they won the European title for the tenth time.
He succeeded Rafael Benitez as head coach in January 2016, then Real beat Juventus in the Turin final.
They also won last season’s final in Cardiff when Ronaldo scored twice in a 4-1 win over Juventus.
