Real Madrid

Another Real Madrid game yesterday, another game Gareth Bale started on the bench. 

But this wasn’t just another game; this was the second leg of the Champions League semifinals. For Real Madrid, this was the most important game of the season. It’s the only trophy they still have a chance to win. The fact Gareth Bale started this game on the bench and didn’t even play at all in the first leg is telling. It’s telling no matter what Zinedine Zidane tells you.

The showdowns between Real Madrid and Barcelona, taking place at least twice per year, are the premier sporting events in Spain. Millions around the world tune in to watch the two richest teams in the world’s most popular sport face off in perhaps the world’s greatest rivalry. Earlier this week, we took a look at how the number of worldwide El Clasico viewers compared to the Super Bowl, the biggest event in Spain compared to the biggest event in the U.S.

If Real Madrid wins a third straight Champions League title on May 26 in Kiev, Cristiano Ronaldo and company will have earned every bit of it. Karim Benzema scored two goals for Real Madrid vs Bayern Munich on Tuesday at the Bernabeu as the Merengues advanced to the Champions League final for the third straight year with a 2-2 draw and 4-3 aggregate victory. 

Real Madrid and Barcelona play each other in El Clasico on Sunday, May 6th at 2:45 PM Eastern time. The first time these two giants met during the 2017/18 LaLiga season, the match kicked off at 4 AM Eastern time. We strongly believe that this will be the best way to spend your afternoon. 

Have you ever heard of the curse of Bela Guttmann? After defeating Real Madrid 5-3 in the final of the 1962 European Cup, Benfica manager Bela Guttmann asked the board of directors for a pay raise. He was denied and left the club, but not before saying, “Not in a hundred years from now will Benfica ever be European champions.” 

The club has since lost eight subsequent European finals.

Poor Sven. All he wanted to do was hang out on the Bayern bench and rack up trophies, but then Manuel Neuer had to go and get injured in September. Now, after another Sven Ulreich howler against Real Madrid on Tuesday, the Bayern Munich backup is making a name for himself in all the wrong ways. 

Just eight minutes after Joshua Kimmich had given Bayern Munich a dream start at the Bernabeu, Real Madrid restored their aggregate lead (3-2) after a sweeping 28-pass move was finally finished off by Karim Benzema.

In order to advance to the Champions League final, Bayern Munich will have to make history at the Bernabeu. The advantage of hosting the second leg is made most apparent by looking at the record of teams who have needed a comeback after dropping the first leg at home. 

Since the 2003-04 season, 18 teams have trailed heading into a Champions League quarterfinal or semifinal second leg on the road. None of those teams have advanced.

In the midst of a huge clash with Bayern Munich in the Champions League semifinals, Real Madrid rested a number of its regular starters for a home match against Leganes, mired in 16th place in LaLiga. The result was an uninspiring 2-1 win for Los Blancos on Saturday at the Bernabeu, one in which the visitors easily could’ve nipped a draw. The Gareth Bale goal vs Leganes was a perfect microcosm of the match for Real Madrid.