Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund poised to beat odds in Champions League semi-finals and set up 2013 repeat

24/04/2024 23:49

When Harry Kane swapped Tottenham Hotspur for Bayern Munich last summer, everyone thought he came to the right place to quench his title thirst. 

However, his curse continues to haunt him as Bayer Leverkusen halted the Bavarians’ 11-year reign in the Bundesliga en route to their maiden Deutsche Meisterschale. 

Kane might have had to satisfy for the Bundesliga Golden Boot, but his quest to add the first piece of silverware to his dusty trophy cabinet is still alive, though barely. 

Bayern went above and beyond to dispatch Arsenal in the Champions League quarter-finals, only to set up a blockbuster tie against record-time winners Real Madrid. 

Manager Thomas Tuchel bids to reach his third Champions League final as a manager and become the first coach in charge of a Bundesliga side since Jurgen Klopp in 2013 to crash Los Blancos out of a two-legged tie.

Numerous forecasts, including Football Today’s predictions, see Bayern as underdogs in this clash of titans. But it would be silly to write the six-time European winners off before the kick-off.

The Bavarians have taken quickly to their role as the ‘underdog,’ unleashing their wrath over a busted domestic campaign on a more heavily fancied Arsenal in the previous round.

It takes a bold man to bet against Bayern against any opposition. Despite Borussia Dortmund’s perennial struggles on multiple fronts, the same goes for them. 

Many expected Edin Terzic’s side to flop against Atletico Madrid in their quarter-final tie, and falling two goals down before half-time in the first-leg clash in Madrid had fit the narrative. 

However, Die Borussen dusted themselves off and turned the tie on its head, rendering a 2-1 slip-up in Spain meaningless with a thumping 4-2 win on home turf. 

Coming up next is a mouth-watering tie against Paris Saint-Germain. 

The odds are stacked against Dortmund after a three-game winless run against the Ligue 1 champions, including two failed attempts to beat them in this season’s group stages. 

But progressing from the so-called ‘group of death’ as winners and subsequently putting Atletico to the sword show the Signal Iduna Park outfit deserves the benefit of the doubt. 

Potentially two games away from reaching their first Champions League final since 2013, Dortmund will hope Bayern can beat Madrid to get a chance to settle the score with their arch-rivals. 

Over a decade ago, a side led by Klopp slumped to a narrow 2-1 defeat in an all-German final.