Real Football Man All of the Football, All of the time
The 2014 finalists are pitted against the 2013 winners as Atletico Madrid take on Bayern Munich in the first leg of their Champions League Semi Final clash. It’s a return to Spanish soil for Bayern Manager Pep Guardiola as he looks to come away from the Vicente Calderon with the advantage going into next week’s return leg.
Atletico Madrid dispatched of holders Barcelona in the Quarter Finals a feat which they also managed to do when progressing to the final back in 2014. They will obviously be looking to go one better then the heartbreak of the Final when they were just seconds away from a first ever Champions League title.
They warmed up for this game with a slender 1-0 win over Malaga on Saturday, a victory that keeps them level with Barcelona at the top of La Liga but second by virtue of a lesser head to head record with the Catalan side.
It was Angel Correa’s deflected winner which was the difference on Saturday and Diego Simeone would be more than happy if they can edge out another tight 1-0 win this evening. If they can stop Bayern snatching an away goal that would very much but them in the driving seat for the 2nd leg.
Bayern prepared for their trip to Spain with a 2-0 win against Hertha Berlin in the German Capital on Saturday. That win keeps them 7 points clear at the top and they could wrap up the Bundesliga title this weekend as long as Dortmund don’t record a better result than themselves
That could be the first leg in a treble for Bayern and departing Manager Pep Guardiola. If that was to happen it would mirror what happened to Jupp Heynckes in 2013. Heynckes was to make way for Guardiola at the end of the season and that announcement was to no detriment to his Bayern side whatsoever as they went to win a historic treble. What price that feat being repeated next month?
If they are to do that they are going to have to get pass an Atletico side who will make it far from easy for him. After dumping Barcelona out again they will have absolutely no reason to fear Bayern and Diego Simeone vs Pep Guardiola is going to make for a fantastic battle of wits.
I reckon it will be quite a tight encounter as both sides will look to feel the other out. Don’t be surprised if we see another stalemate like last night but that said I fancy Bayern to snatch an away goal but not the win. I’ll go with a score draw with Bayern slightly in front for the return fixture.
Papa Johns – If your team scores twice then it’s half price
