Although Real Madrid is the biggest favorite to win the semi-finals, the semi-final with Bayern is unanimously agreed to be five or five. It can be seen that the European derby itself has a balance of power, and even if Real Madrid looks stronger now, everyone still feels that the two sides are comparable. In fact, in the past ten years, Real Madrid has become Bayern's nemesis, from the beginning of the 13 to 14 season, Real Madrid has eliminated Bayern from the Champions League for 3 consecutive times, and these three matchups, Bayern's coaches are all well-known coaches in European football, namely Guardiola, Ancelotti, Heynckes.
However, Bayern's current coach Tuchel, in terms of experience, it is really necessary to talk about it separately. Perhaps, the reason why everyone thinks that Real Madrid's encounter with Bayern this time is a five-to-five open, has a lot to do with Tuchel.
Thomas Tuchel is also one of the fastest starters in European football, especially in recent years, when he led Paris to the Champions League final and Chelsea to their second Champions League title. Moreover, over the years, Tuchel has led the team to play against Real Madrid. And regardless of victory or defeat, Real Madrid is very uncomfortable every time they meet Tuchel. For example, in the semi-finals of the Champions League in the 20-21 season, it was Tuchel who led Chelsea to eliminate Real Madrid, and in the quarter-finals of the Champions League in the 21-22 season, although Tuchel's Chelsea was eliminated by Real Madrid, but in the second leg at the Bernabeu, Chelsea almost completed the comeback, which really scared Real Madrid enough.
However, I personally feel that the best thing about Tuchel's experience against Real Madrid is that he has squeezed Real Madrid, the peak of the new century, into the second place in the Champions League group.
Since the beginning of the new century, which season of Real Madrid was the peak of Real Madrid? Is it the galactic battleship of the beginning of the new century? Absolutely not. To be honest, at that time, Real Madrid's lineup was just simple and luxurious, and Zidane, Figo, Da Luo and others all came to the Bernabeu with honor, and the hunger for victory was actually not high, and they were not young at that time, and their state was gradually declining. In fact, in those years, Real Madrid's overall results were not worthy of their luxury squad at all.
Personally, I think that the most pinnacle of Real Madrid since the new century is Real Madrid in the 16th and 17th seasons. From 2016 to 2018, Real Madrid completed three consecutive Champions League titles, the first and third of which were more reluctant, but the second was more domineering. First of all, the second time, Real Madrid also won the La Liga championship, and secondly, in that final, Real Madrid defeated Juventus 4:1, showing strong strength, and it was said at the time that this Real Madrid team really has the strength to dominate European football.
But Real Madrid, which is so strong, did not win the first place in the group stage of the Champions League. And it was Thomas Tuchel's Borussia Dortmund who squeezed them behind to claim top spot.
In fact, at that time, Dortmund was still worse than Dortmund led by Klopp in the 12th and 13th season. But in the two legs against Real Madrid, they were both 2:2, and they didn't suffer at all. Real Madrid, in addition to two draws with Dortmund, was unexpectedly drawn 3:3 by Legia Warsaw on the road. Although they beat their opponents 5-1 at home, you can see how Dortmund dealt with this fish belly? first a double, and then an 8-4 win at home, which is obviously stronger than Real Madrid. And after 6 games, Dortmund is 1 point ahead of Real Madrid.
It is said that Real Madrid that season was the strongest in recent years, but in the face of Dortmund, they did not take advantage, and their performance was not as stable as the opponent. It can be seen that Tuchel was already showing his edge at that time. Personally, I think that squeezing the peak Real Madrid to second place in the group is even better than leading Chelsea to eliminate Real Madrid in the semi-finals. Because, in the 20-21 season, Real Madrid is in the midst of the replacement of the old and the new, and its strength has declined seriously.
In the semi-finals of this season's Champions League, Tuchel's Bayern and Real Madrid drew in the first leg, but combined with Tuchel's history of fighting with Real Madrid in recent years, the suspense of the second leg should be very large, and it is not ruled out that Tuchel will make Real Madrid suffer again. We'll see.