This is a huge week in the season of Real Madrid as they prepare for a stellar Champions League clash with Bayern Munich.
Carlo Ancelotti’s side has the La Liga title at their fingertips and, if they can win the European crown too it will be a truly brilliant double. Los Blancos saw off the reigning champions, Manchester City, to reach the last four of the Champions League and a spectacular win in El Clasico pretty much ended the race for the Primera Division title.
Real Madrid are one of the elite clubs in world football; there’s no denying that. But the game has evolved at such a rate that a Champions League and La Liga double would be a superb achievement.
So what chance do Los Blancos have of pulling it off?
Route to European glory
While Los Blancos have bossed their domestic league their Champions League 2024 results have been pretty impressive too. They had a 100 per cent record at the group stage before overcoming Red Bull Leipzig and Manchester City to reach the final four.
With Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain in the other semi-final the match against Bayern looks as tough as any for Los Blancos. All four clubs will fancy their chances now that they have reached the semi-finals but the Champions League 2024 betting odds predict the eventual winner will come from the clash between Madrid and Munich.
The Bavarians blitzed through their Group with 16 points, and eight more than second placed Copenhagen, before beating Lazio and then another highly fancied side, Arsenal, to set up the mouth-watering date with Los Blancos. Harry Kane, with 35 Bundesliga goals in 31 appearances will pose a huge threat; but the Bavarians are beset by injury problems and they have taken a real walloping from Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga title race.
Los Blancos are favourites to reach the final at Wembley Stadium and if they do, then what?
Well; it’s either BVB or PSG in the final and the Ligue 1 giants are favourites to make it through to their second Champions League final. PSG have walked away with the Ligue 1 title one again, to make it eight in ten years and four on the bounce for Luis Enrique’s side. While the France top flight has been something of a one horse race Paris haven’t had it all their own way in Europe. They finished second in their group to Dortmund with two wins, two draws and two defeats; before beating Real Sociedad, and then Barcelona, rather luckily, in a controversy filled tie which left Barca manager Xavi furious.
But PSG are in the last four and with Kylian Mbappe, likely to be a Real Madrid player before long, in their side, Enrique’s men are always a threat.
After winning their group and beating PSV Eindhoven in the Round of 16, Dortmund came through a tough quarter final against Atletico Madrid 5-4 on aggregate. Edin Terzic’s team are the outsiders in the last four but they have gathered momentum in the second half of the season and can’t be discounted, with players of the quality of Marco Reus, Julian Brandt and a rejuvenated Jadon Sancho in their ranks.
The Ancelotti effect
At a SBOTOP price of 2.40 to win the Champions League, Los Blancos are the team to beat, while Carlo Ancelotti is most definitely the man to deliver for the Madrid giants. He’s the most successful head coach in Champions League history and he proved, once again, just what a great manager he is when his team overturned the odds to beat Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City. Los Blancos have a wealth of attacking talent and Rodrygo cut through to breach the Sky Blue defence; but then a defensive master-class took the La Liga side through as keeper Andriy Lunin ultimately starred in the penalty shootout.
Ancelotti is a tactical genius and he knows how to get the best from his players… and how to get under the skin of his opponents.
He is the only manager ever to have won league titles in Europe’s five biggest leagues, with Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, AC Milan, Chelsea and PSG; and Ancelotti has won the Champions League four times, twice with Los Blancos and twice with AC Milan, and he is the only head coach ever to manage in five Champions League finals…so far.
So my money is on Ancelotti making it six finals on the 1st June… and then he is potentially 100 minutes away from yet another spectacular triumph.
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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