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Bayern desperate to turn around Madrid tie

"The team want it, I want it, the fans want it," said Josep Guardiola as FC Bayern München try to overturn a 1-0 deficit at home to a Real Madrid CF side ready for a "very difficult" night.

Bayern desperate to turn around Madrid tie
Bayern desperate to turn around Madrid tie ©UEFA.com

FC Bayern München must overturn a 1-0 deficit at home to Real Madrid CF in order to defend the UEFA Champions League title in Lisbon on 24 May and Josep Guardiola said: "The team want it, I want it, the fans want it."

Guardiola knows all about Madrid's counterattacking ability after the 1-0 loss last week in which his side had more of the play and the Merengues' subsequent 4-0 defeat of CA Osasuna.

Given the slender nature of Madrid's advantage, Ancelotti "wants maximum effort from everyone in order to reach the final". He thinks industry, rather than tactics, could be decisive. "Our system is not all-important, the work aspect will be."

Will miss final if booked
Bayern: Mario Mandžukić
Madrid: Xabi Alonso, Asier Illarramendi, Sergio Ramos

Bayern
Josep Guardiola, coach

The tension is high, of course. We are in the semis and everyone is looking forward to the game. It should be a great atmosphere. I knew before their match against Osasuna how good Madrid are and what fantastic players they have.

Franck [Ribéry] is a very important player for us, he's been at Bayern much longer than me. It gives me great pleasure when he plays well, with energy, motivation and fighting spirit. He always wants to fight for the cause and that's why people love him. He's one of the greatest players in the club's history.

Madrid counterattack at pace. If you lose the ball you need to make sure you close down the space and make the defence compact. They will seek to defend their advantage for 90 minutes, but I'm not sure how. We were desperate to score an away goal. Now we have to attack even more – we have no other option. I'm convinced they'll want to play as well.

It has been a fantastic season with a Champions League semi-final and a German Cup final to come. We're already German champions and there is lots more we can achieve. We cannot do it by ourselves tomorrow. We need the fans, who have been outstanding so far. They can push us towards the final. The team want it, I want it, the fans want it, and together we can achieve it.

Weekend result
Saturday: Bayern 5-2 SV Werder Bremen (Ribéry 20, Pizarro 53 57, Schweinsteiger 61, Robben 74; Gebre Selassie 10, Hunt 36)

Neuer; Weiser (Lahm 46), Boateng, Dante (Robben 73), Alaba (Contento 76); Martínez, Schweinsteiger; Müller, Götze, Ribéry; Pizarro.

• Usual starters Toni Kroos, Philipp Lahm, Arjen Robben and Mario Mandžukić began the game on the bench. Bayern twice came from behind to record their 14th home victory of the season, though they have won just four out of nine in all competitions since wrapping up the Bundesliga title on 25 March.

Team news
Thiago Alcántara (knee) and Xherdan Shaqiri (thigh) are not available, but otherwise Guardiola said: "All the players are fit."

Madrid
Carlo Ancelotti, coach

We know tomorrow's game is going to be very difficult. We are playing against a great team with a small advantage, so we are not that stupid as to think we have already qualified. It's going to be really hard. It is true that we have athletes of the highest calibre; we are physically very strong.

I have good memories of this stadium. I don't think tactically the game is going to change a lot tomorrow. FC Bayern have their footballing philosophy, but I don't think tactics will be all-important. I actually think the mental side of things will be more important.

We started too timidly in the first leg – if we do the same tomorrow it will be very dangerous. We need to start stronger and must make a big effort. We will need maximum effort from everyone in order to reach the final. Our system is not all-important, the work aspect will be.

Playing 4-4-2 or 4-4-3 won't change the overall outcome much. We will see two teams with different philosophies because of the players available to them. That's what makes football so beautiful.

It is possible to advance even if we don't score, but our intention is to do so. We have scored a lot in the UEFA Champions League and in the Liga and my intention is that we do so again in this one. We can play different styles of football, but in the majority of games we try to play offensively. We look to take advantage of our physical and technical strengths.

Weekend result
Saturday: Real Madrid CF 4-0 CA Osasuna (Ronaldo 6 52, Ramos 60, Carvajal 83)
Diego López; Nacho, Varane, Ramos, Marcelo; Modrić (Alonso 67), Illarramendi, Isco; Di María (Carvajal 74), Morata, Ronaldo (Casemiro 62).

• A fourth successive Liga win kept Madrid third in the Liga, six points behind leaders Club Atlético de Madrid with a game in hand. Cristiano Ronaldo's double took him to 17 goals in his last 13 games in all competitions.

Team news
Gareth Bale – suffering from a virus last week – was rested on Saturday, while Pepe (hip) and Karim Benzema (knee) remained on the bench. Ancelotti, though, said: "All the players are fit, so it will be difficult for me to choose the starting XI."

Regarding the long-term absentees, Sami Khedira is close to a return for the first time since tearing an anterior cruciate ligament in November. Álvaro Arbeloa and Jesé Rodríguez are out with knee injuries.

Match fact
Bayern have won 20 of their last 24 UEFA Champions League home games, but only one of their past three – 3-1 against Manchester United FC in the quarter-finals.

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