I Am Scouted by Real Madrid

Looking at Bayern Munich, in their seemingly measured passing and possession play, they were able to create opportunities through set pieces (Musiala headed against the crossbar from Kimmich’s corner in the 22nd minute) and posed a threat with sudden, concise mid-to-long-range passes or long shots during positional play.

As people anticipated Alonso coming up with solutions during the halftime break, his Courtois made a fatal error, fumbling Kimmich’s diagonal lob with both hands without any challenge, allowing the alert Musiala to score into an empty net with his right foot, changing the score to 2-0 in the 9th minute of the second half.

Although during the celebration of this goal, Neuer bizarrely caused a muscle fiber tear in his right calf and had to be replaced by the German U21 international keeper Urbig, who joined in the winter transfer window, this did not disrupt Bayern Munich’s rhythm, and Urbig, making his debut, was ultimately not tested.

Contrastingly, Real Madrid, Courtois’s mistake seemed like a contagion, leading them to commit two more costly and foolish errors in the subsequent match. First, with a yellow card already, Tchouaméni rashly stepped on Coman’s shin while pressuring him on the right flank to receive a pass. The main referee, Oliver, who enforced a stringent ruling in this game, unhesitatingly gave a second yellow, sending the French defensive midfielder off.

Due to Tchouaméni’s exit, Alonso was forced to make substitutions to fill the defensive gaps.

Just four minutes after coming on, a player hugged Kane with both arms during a corner defense, gifting a penalty.

Kane, of course, didn’t hesitate, tricking Courtois with a change in his run-up rhythm and precisely scored into the top right corner of the goal.

If it were the first half of the season, Bayern Munich would almost certainly continue to pummel the downed opponent, relentlessly pursuing the next goal.

But this time, Bayern Munich remained patient from start to finish, refusing to be anxious, and continued to torment their opponent at their own pace. If luck had been a little better, substitutes Sane and Palhinha could have further changed the score.

Especially Palhinha, who, facing an almost empty net in the 5th minute of stoppage time, hit the crossbar, wasting Musiala’s "Bergkamp-style dribble" assist.

Bayern Munich ultimately recorded 17 shots producing an expected goals of 2.98, while Real Madrid, with only 2 shots in total and 0 shots in the second half, had only 0.33—data that mirrored that mid-February confrontation where Real Madrid had 2.23 compared to their 0.14. Kane, named player of the match, summarized: "After 1-0 it was still very tight, but we capitalized on their mistake to score the second goal, and then sending off one player meant the momentum remained in our favor. It would have been nice to seize that chance and score one more at the last moment, but overall, we were very dominant."

From the data, Bayern Munich certainly overwhelmed Real Madrid. However, from the game’s perspective, you might feel that Bayern Munich didn’t ravage their opponent in any particular phases. They didn’t play with such fervor, passion, and flair, nor did they have such a domineering presence, even after it became 11 against 10.

There was often more than 10 minutes between every two good opportunities, and Real Madrid never appeared completely broken. As Valverde put it, "Except for the scoreline, we played quite well."

This is precisely Bayern Munich’s success. This Bayern Munich, which used to be too naive and aggressive, has surprisingly learned how to boil a frog in warm water.

Seemingly inflexible Kompany also proved through this tactical setup against Real Madrid that he is still growing and completely understands adaptation, never sticking to a dead-end path.

Kompany is well aware that many German experts, journalists, and fans still don’t think he deserves the Bayern Munich manager position. They would seize any chance to step on him, but the young Belgian manager has always maintained humble confidence, whether in adversity or smooth sailing, and this mental quality is gradually changing the team’s demeanor. Unlike his predecessor Tuchel, who would counter-attack critics whenever he got the chance, Kompany remained "clear-headed" even after several consecutive convincing victories (4-0 against Frankfurt, 3-1 against Stuttgart) and always emphasized "staying calm."

This time was no exception, and he didn’t show any signs of triumph, but rather reminded the team to keep it going, "Of course, we performed excellently, otherwise you wouldn’t beat such a team. What we have achieved, we must do again next Tuesday. There’s no time now for self-praise or similar actions. After the mission is complete, of course, the guys can be happy. But we must now focus on the game against Bochum and the second leg against Real Madrid."

Besides Kompany, Kimmich, who has recently been criticized over renegotiations, also vindicated himself in this game. In the post-match ratings by Kicker magazine, Kane was named the best with a score of 1.5 (note: 1 is the best, 6 is the worst), with Kimmich closely following with a score of 2. The German captain’s two long shots were both threatening, and with 114 touches, 100 passes, 91 successful ones, and 4 assists leading to shots, he was the best in the entire game. On the defensive end, he won 7 out of 9 duels, clinching all 4 aerial duels — Kane’s opening goal came from Kimmich heading Courtois’s long kick directly to Kane after outpowering Wirtz in midfield.

After the match, Kimmich openly addressed a series of renewal rumors over the past few days and clearly stated when he would decide. He emphasized that the initiative for renewal is not with him but with the club, "The withdrawal of the contract offer is well known, but I didn’t know before. Initially, I planned to decide before the (March) international match week. The club didn’t want that, which is reasonable; the club wants a decision before these two legs against Real Madrid. But for me, the injury made things somewhat complicated. I won’t say much but will decide soon. I don’t know if it will be between the two legs, but at the latest, it will definitely be before the international match week."

It’s reported that Kimmich’s prolonged hesitation to renew is due to aiming for a signing bonus comparable to Alfonso Davis and Musiala, but sports director Eberl emphasized that Kimmich is "not greedy" about the salary and criticized these claims as "nonsense." The journalist immediately relayed Eberl’s words to Kimmich, who responded, "This is not about squeezing the last Euro. Max (Eberl) knows that. We’ve had very good talks. I’ve also noticed that Max is very honest and is struggling. I’m very grateful for this."

Between the lines, it seems to suggest that Kimmich and Eberl had actually been close to an agreement, but now both of them need to team up to resist the pressure from the supervisory board concerning their respective rights and status within the club. Given this, the possibility of Kimmich renewing his contract and staying with the team remains very high. Previously, the club chairman Dreßen, who was also slandered by competitors through the media regarding contract renewals, casually stated, "He (Kimmich) came back from a brief injury stop and played a good game. Withdrawing contract offers is no big news; that’s the situation."

After this match, Real Madrid has no way out.

With a 3-goal defeat and rumors that Alonso is at a tactical disadvantage against Kompany persist, many Real Madrid fans still hold expectations, hoping for Chen Zhong’s appearance, believing Chen Zhong can help change the team’s fate in the second leg.

Unfortunately, this expectation is likely to be in vain, as most people feel that Chen Zhong is already old and cannot perform as before. They should accept the reality and start afresh next season.