Underwhelming Real will have to be better at Bayern
MADRID — Real Madrid might be the favorite for the Champions League, but a 1-1 draw against Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday will hardly have struck fear into Bayern Munich.
Zinedine Zidane’s side started complacently at Santiago Bernabeu and ended frantically, with Cristiano Ronaldo’s 87 th-minute equalizer canceling out a delightful early chip from Athletic’s Inaki Williams.
Barcelona’s commanding lead at the top of La Liga, which now stands at 12 points over Atletico Madrid and 15 on Real, means these matches carry reduced significance and inevitably lack a certain edge.
But Zidane might at least be concerned by a loss of momentum, particularly given this side is likely to be very close to the one that starts the semifinal first leg at Allianz Arena in a week’s time.
Real has managed to hit a different gear in the Champions League knockout stages, but this draw means it has now won only one of its last four matches after stringing together 11 victories in their previous 12.
Ronaldo’s late flick was his 22nd goal in 12 games and with the Portuguese in this sort of form, almost any performance can be salvaged.
Real’s night was better summed up by one moment in the second half when Sergio Ramos repeatedly failed to clear and then turned to face the crowd’s jeers with his arms outstretched. The jeers grew louder.
If the Real team that faced Malaga last Sunday was aimed at resting players ahead of Bayern, this looked more like a dress rehearsal.
Ronaldo, Luka Modric, Toni Kroos, Raphael Varane and Marcelo all returned, but there was no place for Gareth Bale, who had also been left out against Malaga. His energy was deemed only valuable enough for 30 minutes off the bench.
Despite the strong picks, Real was sloppy from the outset, full of heavy touches and misplaced passes while Athletic delivered an early warning for what was to come when Mikel San Jose skipped in behind the defense but was denied by Keylor Navas.
Ronaldo’s bullet header rattled the bar from a Dani Carvajal cross, but Athletic was slipping through Real’s midfield with ease and took the lead in the 14th minute.
Inigo Cordoba received the ball on the half turn and with nobody near him, threaded a pass inside Ramos. Williams was onto it in a flash before lifting an expert finish over Navas.
Real improved as the half wore on, but the biggest cheer came from a passage of individual brilliance from Marco Asensio. He chased the ball down in the corner, then slalomed past three Athletic defenders. Only the right hand of Kepa prevented a stunning goal.
Ronaldo was unlucky not to be awarded a penalty midway through the second half after being tackled by Unai Nunez, but Real was even luckier not to fall two behind moments later when Cordoba’s finish at the back post hit Carvajal and Raul Garcia’s follow-up struck the bar.
Bale and Isco came on with just over 20 minutes left, the latter receiving the warmer welcome, but it was not until the 87th minute that Real finally found an equalizer.
Modric’s shot from 25 yards was helped into the corner by a Ronaldo flick.
Real must surely be better against Bayern.