Sevilla pulled off the biggest upset of the round of 16 by deservedly eliminating Manchester United, and they held their own against Bayern Munich in the first leg of this quarterfinal tie. However, Bayern Munich still came away with a 2-1 win and those two away goals could come in handy in the second leg in Germany on April 11th.
What To Know About Sevilla
Sevilla were clearly the best team in the first half, and they should consider themselves to be a bit unlucky not to be up 2-0 going into halftime. Pablo Sarabia scored in the 32nd minute, but he missed a great chance in the 20th minute as well. Then in the second half, Sevilla couldn’t hold the lead as Bayern Munich scored a pair of deflected goals, which again was unlucky, but this story has happened to Sevilla before. Prior to this game, Sevilla were up 2-0 against Bartcelona with just two minutes to go in regulation, plus stoppage time, and could only manage a 2-2 draw. Those are the kind of things that players and managers alike will lose their minds over. That being said, Sevilla went toe-to-toe with another European powerhouse and can be proud of their effort. However, it is only going to get harder in Germany.
What To Know About Bayern Munich
Bayern Munich were put on the back foot for the first 45 minutes, but an own goal from Jesus Navas gave them life going into the second half. There, they started to exert pressure on Sevilla and Thiago Alcantara scored in the 68th minute to give Bayern Munich the win and of course, two crucial away goals. It wasn’t until James Rodriguez was brought on for an injured Arturo Vidal in the first half that Bayern Munich even looked like they could score, and he surely has to start in the second leg. Robert Lewandowski and Thomas Muller worked hard, but never looked like scoring and Bayern Munich manager Jupp Heynckes might have made a mistake by starting the overmatched Juan Bernat in his first Champions League game. Rafinha was much better when he was brought on to replace Bernat.
Outlook
Bayern Munich are favored at home at 1.28, while Sevilla comes in at 10.00 and a draw is rated at 5.50. This will be Sevilla’s first trip to Munich, but they managed a 2-2 draw at Liverpool in the group stages and then beat Manchester United 2-1 in the second leg of their round-of-16 tie to get to this point. They’re not going to fear Bayern Munich, who are a better team, but they still have a lot of issues to work out if they want to win the entire competition. Rodriguez might have to start from the beginning so Bayern Munich can come out of the gate quickly, and the defense has to be much better than it was, especially in the first half. On paper, Bayern Munich should have no problems winning this game. However, the game isn’t played on paper and Sevilla are going to be a handful for the German giants.
Champions League Betting Pick: Bayern
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