体坛英语新闻：Bayern Munich takes a breath

BERLIN, April 13 (Xinhua) -- It is done. Pep Guardiola and Bayern Munich can take a breath and wait for the draw of the semifinal in Nyon, Switzerland next Friday. After a 2-2 draw in the second leg of the quarterfinal against Benfica Lisbon (3-2 on aggregate), the Germans were able to at least fulfill minimum expectations.

Of course, both the Spanish coach and his German club are still desperate to win the 2015/2016 Champions League, and the judgment of Guardiola's three-year era will be strongly dependant on it. The semi-final is some kind of minimum aim for the Germans. Reaching the semifinals will make a lot of things a little bit easier, a 12 million euros reward for qualifying for the round of the last four is very comforting too.

Now the question is, who is next and who of the last four (Bayern Munich, Manchester City, Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid) has the best chances to lift the trophy? Guardiola still has the chance to say good bye with the cup in his hands. Meaning: He could leave triumphant or as the man who could not finish the job. The semifinal will take place April 26/27 and May 3/4.

Will Bayern and the 45-year-old Spaniard face a deja vu after they lost both semifinals in the last two years, the first against Real Madrid in 2014 and then against Barcelona in 2015. Now it can't be "Barca" again as the titleholder has been eliminated by Atletico Madrid in the quarterfinal. But would Atletico Madrid or Manchester City (next to Real) be the easier choice for Bayern?

For the next weeks Bayern and Guardiola will have to live with being the biggest favorite alongside Real. Forgotten now how tricky the game was against the Juventus Turin side in the last 16. Thomas Mueller popped in the dying seconds to equalize (2-2) against the Italians and take the game into extra time which ended in a 4-2 win for Bayern. Forgotten as well, the hard work they had in disposing of underdog Benfica Lisbon on Wednesday evening.

As footballers say, you have to beat every team when you want to walk off with the cup. Would Real Madrid be the most serious threat in the semis? Maybe Manchester City would be the easiest opponent. Looking at the Atletico Madrid' s games against Barcelona, a potential tie against the defensively-minded and determined capital city side will not be easier either.

No matter who they are drawn against, Bayern`s performance will be closely watched after they twice folded against Spanish giants in the past two seasons, Real 5-0 on aggregate and one year later Barcelona 5-3 on aggregate.

Especially in the games against Real, Guardiola was accused of having chosen the wrong tactic. Looking at the duel's against Barcelona in 2015, Bayern suffered from injuries to several of its key figures. But after all the man, who is regarded as being perhaps the world' s best coach and a mastermind, could not find the right answers.

The 2015/2016 semifinal is Guardiola's seventh time in the round of the last four. Bayern has now made it to the penultimate stage five times in a row.

Now not only millions of fans around the globe are discussing who will win the 2015/2016 Champions League or who meet in the final in Milan on May 28. Even the successor of the current Bayern coach Pep Guardiola, Carlo Ancelotti, he takes over in July, is trying to figure out who it will be.

"A week ago everyone thought, including me, that Barcelona was the big favorite to win the Champions League. Now I think it' s open. Barcelona's performance hasn't been on the highest level lately, now they haven' t managed to reach the semifinal. Therefore it is hard to predict who will be the winner of the final," Ancelotti said.

To beat Benfica Lisbon at first was far from a piece of cake and discussions will intensify as to why Bayern at present has problems creating scoring chances.

Benfica's tactical strategy in the first half hour made them a hard nut to crack for the Bavarians who had an average of up to 70 percent possession but could not find space for attacks as Benfica closed them down high up just behind the centre line. Neither Ribery nor Costa for a long time could get through and Bayern struggled.

On top Guardiola's team couldn' t get close to the Portuguese goal. The first time it worked was the 38th minute when Arturo Vidal scored the equalizer after Raul Jimenez had given Benfica a 1-0 lead (27th). Thomas Mueller then put the Bavarians 2-1 ahead in the 52nd minute. Though Anderson Talisca equalized in the 77th minute, the quarterfinal tie to all intents and purposes been decided.

Robert Lewandowski was left out of Bayern's starting eleven by coach Pep Guardiola. The official reason was: Guardiola wanted to strengthen the midfield in which the Spaniard decided to begin with Xabi Alonso, Arturo Vidal and Thiago. But several other reason's might as well have played a role such as the Polish striker was in danger of being banned for the semi-final if he received another yellow card. On top Lewandowski, who has not scored in the last three games, had a car accident last Sunday according to Polish media reports.

At the back Bayern began with a row of four (Philipp Lahm, Joshua Kimmich, Javier Martinez and David Alaba). Up front Douglas Costa and Franck Ribery foraged down the flanks and Thomas Mueller was the man in the center. Arjen Robben was sidelined due to an injury as was defender Jerome Boateng.

"We' re very happy about reaching the semifinal. The team has done a great job, I can tell you it is a hard job in a quarterfinal of the Champions League, not only for us, but for every team," said Pep Guardiola.