The first leg of the first UEFA Champions League semifinal tie would be a mouthwatering clash of behemoths between Bayern Munich and Real Madrid on the 30th of April in the Allianz Arena. The second leg would be played right days later in the Santiago Bernabéu.
These two clubs hold 20 of the total 67 UEFA Champions League titles. They are also two of the only three clubs that have ever won the trophy in three consecutive years, Ajax being the third club to achieve the feat. Real Madrid however has done it twice.
The second tie would be between recently crowned 12 times Ligue 1 title winners, Paris Saint-Germain F.C. and fifth-placed Borussia Dortmund on the 1st of May. PSG is the only 2024 semifinalist that has never won the trophy, with Dortmund winning it in 1997.
England Stars Clash In Champions League Battle
Harry Kane moved from Tottenham Hotspur to Bayern Munich, trading the English capital for the capital of the Free State of Bavaria, in the 2023 summer transfer window. His transfer cost Bayern Munich over €100m. He has since scored 42 goals in 42 games for the Bavarian club.
Moving from Germany, Jude Bellingham switched allegiances from Borussia Dortmund to Real Madrid in the 2023 summer transfer window for over €100m, but a more expensive fee than Harry Kane’s after add-ons. He scored 10 goals in his first 10 games, matching Cristiano Ronaldo’s goal tally in his debut Real Madrid season in 2009.
Harry Kane, the English captain with 62 international goals will clash with his compatriot in a delicious semifinal tie on the 30th of April and 8th of May 2024.
Harry Kane’s Incredible First Bundesliga Season
The record for the most goals in a single Bundesliga season is currently 41 goals scored by Robert Lewandowski in the 2020-21 season. He achieved this feat in 29 games.
Harry Kane relocated to Germany off the back of 296 goals in England, 280 of those coming in his 13 years in Tottenham. In three of those seasons, he won the Premier League Golden Boot, scoring 25, 29, and 23 goals respectively. He scored 30 goals twice in the league within this period but never won the Golden Boot in any of those seasons, losing to Mohamed Salah and Erling Haaland respectively.
His brace against Frankfurt on Saturday meant he’d scored against 16 of the other 17 clubs in the Bundesliga with Freiburg the only team he missed out on scoring against. After scoring 35 goals in 31 appearances, he holds hope that it’s possible to reach Lewandowski’s record in the remaining three games.
Is Jude Bellingham The Future of Real Madrid?
Jude Bellingham’s transfer to Madrid which cost an initial fee of €103m to Dortmund was Real Madrid’s second most expensive transfer fee paid for a player since Eden Hazard’s 2019 transfer from Chelsea for an initial €115m.
Unlike the Belgian, Bellingham hit the ground running immediately. In August, he scored on his debut against Athletic Bilbao in a 2-0 win before going ahead to score two more with an assist against Almería, and an 81st minute winner against Celta Vigo. This won him the August La Liga Player of the Month award, becoming the first Englishman to win the award.
In his Champions League debut for Madrid, he scored the 94th-minute winner against Union Berlin. In his first El Clásico game, he scored a brace against Barcelona, becoming the first player for Real Madrid to score in his debut El Clásico, Champions League, and La Liga games. In the return leg on the 21st of April, he scored the 91st-minute winner at the Santiago Bernabéu.
He won the October La Liga Player of the Month award also. These exploits culminated in him winning the 2023 Golden Boy trophy. He’s currently the joint second-highest scorer in La Liga with 17 goals, two behind Artem Dovbyk of Girona.
Did We Forget Someone?
Eric Dier, the former Tottenham Hotspur defender, moved to Bayern Munich in the 2024 January transfer window on a six-month loan deal.
On the 1st of March, after starting against Freiburg in the 2-2 draw, he triggered the clause to make his stay in Bavaria permanent after his Tottenham contract expires on the 30th of June.
Since he has started Bayern Munich’s last five games including the 2-2 draw against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium, the Englishman is a firm favorite to start against Real Madrid on Tuesday.
Also Read: Thomas Tuchel: Fan Petition Absolutely Doesn’t Bother Him
About the Author
Ebenezer has been an avid writer for over a decade and a half. Within that period, he has garnered experience in various fields such as editing, graphics design, transcribing, sales, data analysis, and football management.
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