The Japan Times - Real Madrid hoping Champions League magic halts Bayern juggernaut

Record 15-time winners Madrid have endured a difficult season, plagued by inconsistency, but have made a habit of pulling off the unexpected in this competition.

Just as it seemed their well of Champions League magic was running dry, Madrid produced their best performance of the season to crush Pep Guardiola's Manchester City in the last 16.

Despite Madrid's prestige and troupe of attacking stars -- Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior, and Jude Bellingham included, as well as City hat-trick hero Federico Valverde -- Bayern are arguably favourites to lift the trophy.

"It would be presumptuous to assume that we'll definitely advance," said honorary Bayern president Uli Hoeness. "But we haven't had such great chances in terms of the playing quality as we have this year in a long time."

Kane, who has scored 48 goals in 40 appearances across all competitions this season, missed Bayern's battling 3-2 Bundesliga win at Freiburg on Saturday with an ankle issue.

"He'd play in a wheelchair," said Bayern midfielder Joshua Kimmich, while Kompany added that he had "a feeling" that the England striker would be ready.

With Michael Olise and Luis Diaz joining Kane in attack, Kompany's side play an aggressive, high-pressing style which helped them demolish Atalanta in the last 16, 10-2 on aggregate.

Bayern came from two goals down to beat Freiburg and match-winner Lennart Karl said that fighting spirit was crucial heading into the Madrid clash.

"It gives us a lot of confidence. It was very important -- we actually feel unbeatable at the moment," he said, with Bayern's last defeat coming in January, 14 matches ago.

In that same period Madrid have lost four times, with coach Alvaro Arbeloa struggling to find the right balance when all his superstars are fit, just like Xabi Alonso and Carlo Ancelotti before him.

"They're not playing the best football, but they're outstanding in terms of experience," noted Hoeness.

- Bernabeu factor -

Madrid fell to a disappointing defeat at Mallorca in La Liga on Saturday, leaving them seven points behind rivals Barcelona in the Spanish title race.

Arbeloa brushed off the loss and said it would have no bearing on his team's performance against Bayern, in the club's favoured competition.

"I know what my players are capable of, I know they understand the importance of Tuesday's game," Arbeloa told reporters.

"The demand on the team will be maximum and I know the support that Madrid fans will offer us -- with them, everything is easier."

Bayern are well aware of the impact of Madrid's supporters on big European nights at the Bernabeu, which, along with the weight of history and sublime individual quality, helps Los Blancos pull off remarkable results even when the odds are against them.

"It's the stadium and the fans who, together with the team, transform into a hurricane that sweeps over the opponent," said Bayern powerbroker Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.

"You need nerves of steel, you have to stay calm, and you have to be mentally prepared... it's not just an ordinary game. It will be the toughest test."

Two Bayern players who understand that more than most are goalkeepers Manuel Neuer and Sven Ulreich, who have both cracked in the Bernabeu pressure cooker before.

In the 2018 semi-final Ulreich went to pick up a back pass before suddenly realising his mistake and let it run past him, with Karim Benzema tapping into the empty net.

Madrid went on to win that tie, as they have on all of the last four knockouts against Bayern. In each of those years, they went on to lift the trophy.

In the 2024 semi-finals former Stoke City striker Joselu struck twice in the dying embers of the second leg, the first after a Neuer handling error, to send Bayern crashing out.

No teams have faced each other more in the competition, with Tuesday's match the 29th occasion Madrid will meet Bayern.

The German giants last eliminated Los Blancos in 2012 but believe they finally have the quality this year to rewrite the narrative of the last decade.

Y.Watanabe--JT