Owen Hargreaves before Real Madrid second leg: ‘Bayern are clearly the better team’

The stats show just how difficult it can be to progress against Real Madrid. Although Bayern against Real is the most played fixture in the history of European competitions, the Bavarians have only once before managed to win both legs of a knockout tie in 90 minutes against Los Blancos. That happened in 2000/01, when Bayern went on to lift the Champions League trophy in Milan. Giovane Élber scored the only goal at the Bernabéu 25 years ago before another 2-1 win at the Olympiastadion in Munich.

On the pitch in that second leg was a 20-year-old Owen Hargreaves, who replaced the suspended Stefan Effenberg in midfield as goals from Élber and Jens Jeremies sent Bayern into the final.

“The German teams played a bit differently back then. That German mentality of winning the 50-50 challenges – that was our strength back then. When it came down to it, we were there,” recalls Hargreaves in an interview with fcbayern.com, reflecting on that great triumph. Today, stars such as Manuel Neuer and Joshua Kimmich are Bayern’s backbone. A quarter of a century ago, it was legends such as Oliver Kahn and Bixente Lizarazu. “We had a good mix in the team back then. With Oliver Kahn, we had the best goalkeeper in the world. We were very strong defensively and simply had quality up front,” says Hargreaves. “Stefan Effenberg was the boss, and then there were guys like Giovane Élber, Mehmet Scholl, Paulo Sérgio, Roque Santa Cruz, Alexander Zickler and Carsten Jancker. We had a lot of options in attack.”

This Wednesday, Bayern are aiming to beat Real Madrid at the Allianz Arena for just the second time in a knockout stage – just as they did 25 years ago. Their chances of reaching the semi-finals look good following their 2-1 away win in the first leg. Incidentally, last week’s victory at the Bernabéu was also their first there since the 1-0 win in 2001. A good omen? We spoke to Hargreaves about this, the return leg, Bayern’s midfield around Kimmich and Aleksandar Pavlović, and Real’s attack.

Lessons from the first leg

“Bayern were the more attacking side in Madrid and, in my view, clearly played better,” says Hargreaves of the exciting first leg in Madrid, which remained the talk of the town in European newspapers for days afterwards. World-class saves from Neuer, two clinical goals from Luis Díaz and Harry Kane, but also a dangerous Real attack led by Champions League top scorer Kylian Mbappé – this match provided talking points for more than just a week.

Hargreaves, who made a total of seven appearances for Bayern against the Madrid side in the Champions League, agreed. The Englishman claimed three wins, but also had to accept three defeats and a draw. “In the first leg, Real improved when Jude Bellingham and Brahim Díaz came on as substitutes. Bayern were clearly the better side in the first leg, but it was still a relatively close affair. Bayern could have scored more goals and Neuer produced three or four world-class saves – he was brilliant,” Hargreaves analysed.

State of play going into return leg

But what does that mean for the return leg at the Allianz Arena? “Don’t just sit back and wait,” Hargreaves replies immediately. Bayern must play as they always do. “Real are and remain dangerous – they have top attacking players in Mbappé and Vinícius Júnior. They draw their confidence from their history in the Champions League. I think the second leg will be similar. Bayern will dominate and it will come down to who makes the most of their chances.” He expects another top-class match.

Hargreaves’ tactical analysis

Hargreaves is an expert on English and European football; he is a familiar face on British television when the season’s biggest matches. After spells at Bayern, Manchester United and Manchester City, the 45-year-old successfully made the move into the media industry. He keeps a close eye on Bayern. “Vincent Kompany is doing very well. Bayern usually have a lot of possession and sit high up the pitch. That’s obviously dangerous against Real with their counter-attacking prowess; Mbappé and Vinícius are incredibly quick,” analyses the Canadian-born former England international. “Neuer came out of his goal well time and again in the first leg, and Bayern’s two centre-backs also played very well. Bayern must be clinical in the decisive moments and win the 50-50 challenges, especially when Real are on the counter-attack. But Madrid will still create chances. Given their quality, that’s inevitable.”

As well as the defence, Hargreaves is particularly focused on the central midfield, having played there for over 10 years in a Bayern shirt. “Bayern are much better in midfield than they were a few years ago. Kimmich is developing every year; he’s getting better and better. He’s one of the best passers. Pavlović is simply a brilliant player. He reminds me a bit of Sergio Busquets; you can always play the ball to him. Up front, Jamal Musiala is simply an incredible player – even if he’s not quite back to full fitness yet. But Serge Gnabry is also doing brilliantly in that position this season. Then, up front, you’ve got Luis Díaz, Michael Olise and Harry Kane – the squad is simply very strong,” said Hargreaves. “Real were long considered the gold standard in this area with Toni Kroos and Luka Modrić. They were the best, which is why they’ve won so many Champions League titles.”

Hargreaves, who was named England’s Footballer of the Year in 2006, has a clear favourite for Wednesday’s match. “Bayern will go through; I’m convinced of that. Kompany is now in his second season, the team is playing strongly and consistently. They have a clear identity, score plenty of goals and are also better defensively than last season. Last season they were sometimes too high up the pitch and were therefore more vulnerable to counter-attacks. Bayern are better and more complete than Real. Players like Díaz, Olise or Kane will tip the balance in Bayern’s favour on Wednesday. I think Bayern are the clearly better team.”

We also spoke to Arjen Robben ahead of the second leg: