FRANKFURT, Germany – Bayern Munich fullback Joshua Kimmich believes that if the Bavarians adopt a positive mind-set they can get the better of Real Madrid on Tuesday in the second leg of the Uefa Champions League semifinal to advance to the final.
The German giants lost 2-1 to Madrid in the first leg at the Allianz Arena in Munich last week. Bayern created enough chances in that match to not only win it but also create a good cushion for themselves before their trip to the Santiago Bernabeu.
But only Kimmich was on the scoresheet for Bayern before Madrid responded with goals by Marcelo and Marco Asensio. Bayern now have to do it the hard way if they are to reach the final and deny Madrid an appearance in their fourth Champions League final in five years.
“It is possible,” Kimmich said. “We showed it last year that we can turn 2-1 around but unfortunately we lost to them in extra time. We had a lot of opportunities in the first leg and unfortunately we didn’t convert them and scored only one goal. We have to do better in that regard in Madrid. We have to score at least two goals and not concede. We have to believe in ourselves to achieve that.”
Bayern bounced back from their loss to Madrid and sent a strong statement by beating German cup finalists Eintracht Frankfurt 4-1 with a B-team while some of their star players were rested for the trip to Spain.
“It was a good performance, especially since we had a lot of young players in the first XI,” Kimmich said. “There were a lot of players who were making a debut for Bayern Munich. They were a bit nervous at the beginning but I think that they recovered well and did well.
Kimmich (left) celebrates after scoring in the first leg. Photo: AP Photo/Kerstin Joensson
"I hope that they had fun and this was a good experience for them. It was a good win for us as a club. Now we have a good feeling for our game against Real Madrid. It was important for us to win, for the confidence”
The Bavarians are still in line for a treble after wrapping up the Bundesliga very early to win it for a record 28th time. The Champions League and the German Cup would complete the treble.
They’ll take on Frankfurt on May 19 in the German Cup in Niko Kovac’s last match with Frankfurt before he takes over Bayern. Frankfurt players have vowed to avenge their 4-1 loss and give Kovac a good send-off.
“We hope that we can beat them again in the final,” Kimmich said. “But that’s now what we are thinking about at the moment. We have an important game against Real Madrid. Afterwards we look at Stuttgart and then Frankfurt.”
Njabulo Ngidi is in Germany courtesy of StarSat