Event of the Day: Real Madrid versus Bayern Munich
Our event of the day is the UEFA Champions League semi-final match between the two time defending champions, Real Madrid, and German powerhouse Bayern Munich at the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu in Madrid. The first leg was played last week at Bayern Munich’s Allianz Arena. This game ended in a 2-1 victory for Real Madrid when halftime substitute Marco Asensio netted the game winner in the 57th minute. The other goals of the game were strikes by Joshua Kimmich for Bayern and Marcelo for Real Madrid. Neither of the two teams top goal scoring threats found a way to finish in the first leg but either Cristiano Ronaldo or Robert Lewandowski are sure to make an impact tonight.
Bayern must win by 2 goals or win 3-2 in order to advance to the final against either Liverpool or Roma; a 2-1 victory in normal time would lead to extra time and perhaps penalties. This could be possible as last time Bayern struggled through some uncharacteristic mistakes by veterans Frank Ribery and Lewandowski, which cost the team clear goal scoring chances, they should be better tonight. Real Madrid’s defence could be up to the task though, as in the last 7 games they have only allowed more than 1 goal once, a Champions League match against Juventus in which they still advanced. This aggression Bayern must show in attack versus the strong defence Real Madrid have been showing lately should make for a thrilling Champions League semi-final.
Honourable mentions around the globe go to the NBA Playoffs second round matchup between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Toronto Raptors. This should be an extremely heated matchup due to the Cavaliers knocking the Raptors out of the last 2 playoffs. However this year is a new chapter in the matchup as the Raptors for the first time in the rivalry were clearly the better team in the regular season. We’ll see if this regular season dominance carries over against a Cavaliers team that always seems to have the Raptors number. Other fixtures planned for today include the NHL Playoffs round 2 matchups between the Penguins and the Capitals and the Jets and the Predators, as well as an exciting MLB game between two National League teams, the Nationals and the Pirates. Global sports events for the first of May also include an IPL match between the Royal Challengers Bangalore and the Mumbai Indians. Lastly many events which started the past few days carry over into today including the Snooker and Table Tennis Championships, and various Tennis events including the BMW Open, TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Open, and the J&T Banka Prague Open.
Whatever you’re watching enjoy!
Fixture
Photos by UEFA