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In what is most certainly the bigger semi-final clash of this season’s UEFA Champions League, Bayern Munich meet Real Madrid in a two-legged affair with The Bavarians welcoming Los Blancos this Wednesday to the Allianz Arena in Munich.
After a brief period in the beginning of the season where Bayern Munich slightly looked out of form, they returned to their usual self with the return of Jupp Heynckes at the helm. Since then, they have managed to wrap up the league title for a sixth consecutive time and have all eyes set on completing their first treble since 2013.
Real Madrid, meanwhile, have had a topsy-turvy season, in that they have looked nowhere near their best in La Liga while being a completely different force to reckon with in the European competition.
This is the only competition that they are playing for in this season, and impressive wins against Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus in the knockout rounds have positioned them as a strong favourite for a third consecutive Champions League title.
Ahead of this mouthwatering clash in the midweek, let’s look at the combined XI of the two teams involved in this slideshow.
Note: Only the players declared fit have been considered for the selection.
Goalkeeper
Looking at the first-choice goalkeeper for both teams, an easier pick here would have been Manuel Neuer. However, he hasn’t played for most parts of the season, and even though he has returned to light training recently, it’s unlikely that he will be picked immediately.
In his absence, Sven Ulreich has deputized well and he is almost certain to keep hold of the number 1 jersey for the rest of the season. While Ulreich would be a good option, Keylor Navas is our pick for the goalkeeper spot in this combined 11.
Despite his horror show in the home leg against Juventus, especially in the third goal, there’s no doubt about his overall quality behind the defensive lineup. He has played a big role in the two UEFA Champions League victories for Real Madrid, and if it comes down to the battle of two goalkeepers in this semifinal fixture, Navas would likely be a safer bet.
Full-backs
Now that the relatively easier decision of selecting the goalkeeper is made, let’s turn to the flanks of the defensive lineup.
At right back, it’s Bayern Munich’s Joshua Kimmich who takes the spot. Kimmich has grown leaps and bounds over the last few seasons, and he has very effectively filled the void left by the former German captain Philipp Lahm.
This season has been a real breakthrough season for him, with him being the unanimous option at this position for the Bavarians. He also made sure that his attacking contributions from the midfield in the last season were not forgotten, as he has continued to deliver in that front with his 4 goals and 13 assists across all competitions over the season.
It was tough to leave Dani Carvajal, as he has been one of the best full-backs in the world over the last few seasons, but he misses out this time only because of his slight inconsistency this season, and the likelihood of Carvajal getting booked in such games makes him a volatile pick.
The left-back situation is also quite complicated, with David Alaba and Marcelo competing for the places but it’s the in-form Brazilian that makes the lineup. Over the last few Champions League ties, he has shown some of his best performances, and his exquisite link-up play with one obvious winger selection of this lineup makes Marcelo a must pick as the left-back.
Centre-backs
Sergio Ramos is available again after he served a one-match ban in the second leg of the quarterfinal against Juventus and he immediately slots into the lineup as the first selection in the centre-back category.
Taking nothing away from Juventus’ fabulous comeback, Ramos must be hoping that the tie wouldn’t have threatened to go the distance had he been calling the shots at the heart of the defence.
Just like the entire team, Jesús Vallejo suffered in his Champions League debut and the youngster would be hoping for a much-improved next season.
Mats Hummels has had yet another strong season at Bayern. He is strong in the air, has strong composure and is a good passer of the ball. Hummels is a very strong leader at the back, and he could strike a strong partnership with Ramos being allowed the freedom to go for the ugly tackles in a demanding situation.
His high percentage in winning aerial duels also makes him a huge set-piece threat, which could help the team in getting important goals at critical times.
Midfield
There’s massive quality in the midfield of both the squads and leaving someone out in favour of someone else is certain to spark a debate with ample points to defend for and go against the topic. The teams also consist of players who have actually turned out for both clubs in the last decade. With that said, let’s start to select the 3-man combined midfield.
First up is Real Madrid’s defensive midfielder Casemiro, who has been one of the best players in the position ever since he returned from that impressive loan spell at Porto in the 2014-15 season.
Under Zinedine Zidane, he would go on to become a regular feature in the team, and at 26 years of age, he is looking to win his 4th Champions League winners’ medal. He is a strong tackler of the ball and helps the side get possession back with his interception skills.
If that was not enough, he manages to score some wonderful goals too – he has scored 7 goals so far this season across all competitions.
With defensive duties allocated to Casemiro, the next midfielder in this lineup, who is also playing for Los Blancos, is Toni Kroos. It’s still baffling how Bayern Munich allowed a player of such quality to go for a considerably small transfer fee.
Kroos would have no complaints however, as the World Cup winner followed his trophy-laden German domestic career, which included a treble, with a similar one at Real Madrid. Expectedly, he has enjoyed a strong season as well, and with Kroos having played for both clubs in real life, it’s only fitting to include him in this lineup as well.
The third midfielder in this lineup was so nearly going to be a Real Madrid player, but alas, it isn’t.
It was really difficult to leave Luka Modric out – it’s hard to see a more balanced group of midfielders who provide everything that’s needed to win that crucial battle in the centre of the midfield, and who have actually earned trophies and accolades at the European competition level.
But come this Wednesday, all eyes would be on current on-loan Bayern Munich player James Rodríguez. James looked for a more continuous run of fixtures at the start of the season but wasn’t able to, even though it was highly expected that he would get more game-time under Carlo Ancelotti, the manager who actually brought him to Real Madrid in the first place.
However, soon after Jupp Heynckes took over, he started gaining confidence and he is in hot form right now. If he sustains this form for some more time, it would be same for him to assume that Bayern would invoke the clause that would make him a permanent player of the team.
This game is the right opportunity for him to prove what Real Madrid are missing out on with Los Blancos having allowed him to go out on loan.
Forwards
It’s always easier to start with obvious options who would feature in every lineup that there is in the world. Not much explanation is needed for the inclusion of 5-time Ballon d'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo who is in unbelievable form right now. With 15 goals in 10 matches, he’s currently the tournament’s leading goal-scorer – 7 more than any other player.
He has scored in every match of this competition this season and it was his penalty in the injury time of the second half that turned out to be the difference in their quarterfinal clash.
Karim Benzema has been nowhere near his best this season, and many believe his poor run of form combined with the sale of Alvaro Morata to Chelsea has dearly cost Real Madrid’s bid to retain the La Liga title this season.
So, the central forward situation is another easy situation to tackle, as the man handling these duties at Bayern’s side is Robert Lewandowski, who first shot to mainstream fame when he terrorized Real Madrid with his performance for Borussia Dortmund in the 2012/13 Champions League semi-finals.
Having already scored 38 goals in 42 games this season, Lewandowski is all set for a third 40+ goal season in succession, and he would be looking to hand Los Blancos a heavy defeat in retaliation to last season’s result.
The player who looks to have finally rediscovered his best form is the 2010 World Cup Golden Boot winner Thomas Müller, who is the final pick of this combined XI.
Müller never really managed to gain Ancelotti’s confidence and he endured a very subpar season with the Bavarians last time around. He is one player that has really benefitted with Heynckes’ return.
He was immediately integrated back into the Bayern lineup and usually plays either at the right or just behind the striker. With Ronaldo on the left and Lewandowski at the centre, Müller completes the forward lineup by taking his usual position at the right.
Final Lineup: Keylor Navas, Joshua Kimmich, Sergio Ramos, Mats Hummels, Marcelo, Casemiro, Toni Kroos, James Rodríguez, Thomas Müller, Cristiano Ronaldo, Robert Lewandowski
Player Selection Score: Bayern Munich 5 – 6 Real Madrid
As expected, this turned out to be a very closely fought selection and could have immediately swayed Bayern Munich’s way had Manuel Neuer been fit for the season.
Do you agree with the selections? Who would you include in your lineup? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
