Real needs triumph to salvage poor season
Bayern’s Alaba, Tolisso doubtful against Madrid in first leg of intriguing semifinal showdown
MADRID (Reuters) – In suffocating August heat at the start of the season, Real Madrid stayed ice cool to crush Barcelona 5-1 on aggregate in the Spanish Super Cup.
It was a show of force from Spain’s dominant side, the double winner exerting its power over Barcelona and leaving its arch-rival on the verge of crisis.
New Barca coach Ernesto Valverde looked on helplessly as Brazilian forward Neymar joined Paris Saint Germain and Real looked unstoppable.
“It’s the first time we’ve felt Madrid are superior,” Barca defender Gerard Pique said after the game.
But as the months passed, it became clear that Real was not capable of defending its league title as Barcelona surged clear at the top of the standings.
Madrid’s league hopes lay in tatters by December, the Catalans raiding the Santiago Bernabeu with a 3-0 win in the Christmas Clasico and moving 14 points of Zinedine Zidane’s team.
Real was dumped out of the King’s Cup in January on away-goals by unheralded AFTER ELIMINATING Bayern Munich from the Champions League last year in the quarterfinals, Cristiano Ronaldo (left) and Real Madrid will attempt to do so again as they visit Germany for tonight’s first leg of the competition’s semifinals. Leganes and Barcelona went on to win that trophy for the fourth season in a row.
That was the first step towards a near-certain double for Barcelona, which needs one point in its remaining five games to wrest the title back from Real.
Real will ease the pain by retaining its Champions League title, its only hope of salvaging a disappointing season.
Madrid faces Bayern Munich in the semifinals as it bids to win it for a third season running, having last season become the first side to retain the trophy by beating Juventus in the final.
The German champion, however, is desperate for revenge after it was eliminated 6-3 on aggregate at the quarterfinal stage by Zidane’s side last season in controversial circumstances.
“You need a better referee for a quarterfinal,” complained then Bayern coach Carlo Ancelotti after his team had two men sent off over the two legs and Real scored goals from offside positions.
“We’re working hard and, if we’ve done it twice, why wouldn’t we go for that third consecutive Champions League?,” Real defender Dani Carvajal said ahead of Wednesday’s first leg in Munich.
It would not be the first time Real’s season has been salvaged by a European triumph.
In 2016 it lifted the trophy after Barcelona won the double and in 1998 it triumphed after finishing fifth in La Liga.
Meanwhile, Bayern coach Jupp Heynckes will decide at the last minute if full back David Alaba and midfielder Corentin Tolisso can play in Wednesday’s semifinal first leg at home.
The German champion is already without Chile international Arturo Vidal, sidelined for the rest of the season following surgery.
“For David Alaba and Corentin Tolisso it will be decided tomorrow morning if they will be included in the squad,” Heynckes told reporters.
Austria international Alaba has been nursing a back injury for some weeks and missed the club’s final training session earlier on Tuesday while Frenchman Tolisso has just recovered from a shin injury.
“Teams in the last four of the Champions League have to deal with injuries,” Heynckes added. “Arturo is for me a very important player for example. But we need to compensate for that loss.”
Bayern are chasing is sixth European Cup, hoping to repeat their 2013 treble-winning season, again under Heynckes, but it will need its strongest team against the holder and 12-time European Cup winner.