Real Madrid did something very strange three weeks ago in Moscow. They failed to win. After cruising through the Champions League group stages with a perfect record, Real put in an indifferent performance - not particularly unusual in and of itself - but looked to be on course for a fairly routine 1-0 away win. Then a 90th minute strike by the brilliantly monikered Pontus Wernbloom gave CSKA Moscow a sliver of hope for their return leg at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Real Madrid Vs. CSKA Moscow, 2012 UEFA Champions League: CSKA Need Miracle To Beat Los Blancos
Real Madrid take on CSKA Moscow at the Santiago Bernabeu after a 1-1 draw in the first leg. The smart money is, of course, on Jose Mourinho’s side.
It’s only a sliver, mind. Real still have the advantage thanks to their away goal. They need a win or a scoreless draw to make it through, and you’d have to fancy them to get it. Even CSKA coach Leonid Slutsky is playing down his team’s chances:
There’s a low probability [of victory]. But sometimes miracles happen, and we hope that we will be able to produce a miracle like that.
Any possibility of a victory is helped out a little by the continued absences of both Fabio Coentrao and Angel di Maria from the Real Madrid lineup as well as the potential return of first-choice CSKA goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev. Jose Mourinho is claiming that Real see their opponents as a legitimate threat, although he'll probably admit that only an exceptionally poor performance from his side will see them knocked out.
Granted, Madrid have put up some relative clangers recently - they were very hard pressed to pick up three points at Rayo and then Real Betis - but the prospect of going out in the first knockout round to a Russian side at home? It’s a little bit too much of a stretch to have much faith in that happening.
Game Date/Time: Wednesday, March 14, 3:45 p.m. ET, 9:45 p.m. local
Venue: Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, Spain
TV: FOX Soccer Plus (USA), Sportsnet World (Canada), Sky Sports 2 (UK)
For more on the Los Blancos, head over to Managing Madrid.
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