Real Madrid against Bayern Munich - a regular fixture in the Champions League. On Wednesday night the German and Spanish giants meet for the fifteenth time in Europe’s elite club competition. Only Barcelona and AC Milan have played each other as often. fcbayern.de has delved into the stats and found a number of interesting facts ahead of the first leg of the semi-final tie.
- Bayern have won eight of the previous 14 UCL games against Real with the Madrid side coming out on top five times and the other encounter ending all square.
- The last clash was at the semi-final stage two years ago. Bayern went through to the final in Munich after a penalty shoot-out at the Bernabéu. FCB won the first leg at the Allianz Arena 2-1 thanks to a late strike by Mario Gomez and then went on to lose the return leg by the same score. Extra time failed to resolve the impasse so it all came down to spot kicks.
- Bayern and Real Madrid face each other for sixth time in the semi-finals of the Champions League or the European Cup. FCB made it to the final four times (1976, 1987, 2001, 2012) and the Spaniards once (2000). Bayern are in the Champions League semi-finals for the fourth time in the last five years and Real for the fourth time in succession - the Madrilenos were knocked out each time while Bayern went through on all three occasions.
- Bayern have not won any of their past five matches at the Bernabéu - including the 2010 final against Inter Milan. And: Real Madrid are unbeaten in their previous 17 Champions League outings at home. The last defeat came against Barcelona in the semi-final first leg in 2010/11 (0-2). The Barça coach back then was Pep Guardiola.
- Bayern have hit the woodwork eight timesin the current Champions League campaign. No other team comes close to that number.
- Real Madrid have easily the best attack in the Champions League this season with 32 goals to their credit to date. Cristiano Ronaldo has netted 14 times. Real have scored at least two goals in nine out of the last ten games with Borussia Dortmund being the only side to keep a clean sheet when they met in the quarter-final second leg tie. FCB have scored 24 goals so far.
- The two clubs meet for the twenty-first timein European competitions on Wednesday. FCB have a positive record: Bayern have won 11 of the previous 20 matches, Real have been victorious seven times and the other two games ended in draws. No other club has inflicted as many defeats on Real as FCB.
- The biggest European home defeat in Real Madrid’s history came against FC Bayern, who ran out 4-2 winners at the Bernabéu in the second round of the 1999/2000 campaign thanks to goals from Scholl, Effenberg, Fink and Sergio.
- Real Madrid and FC Bayern are the two clubs with the most appearances in Europe’s elite club competition(Champions League plus European Cup). Real have played 357 times, winning 210. FC Bayern have played 272 games in the premier club competition clocking up 151 victories along the way.
