Zidane's luxury is Heynckes' nightmare

Contrasting benches available to coaches

Posted Saturday, April 28, 2018 by Marca.com

The sheer ferocity of a Champions League semi-final is taking its toll on both Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, however it is the LaLiga giants who are far better placed to deal with a swell of injuries than their German counterparts.

Injuries have arrived like London buses for Bayern since this tie was drawn, Arturo Vidal falling foul of a knee injury before a ball was kicked with Jerome Boateng's season also being ended thanks to a hamstring complaint in Wednesday's first leg.

In addition, Arjen Robben is a doubt for the return game with Javi Martinez unable to train following a head knock.

As for Los Blancos, Dani Carvajal is definitely out of Tuesday's rendezvous at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu whereas Isco is a doubt, both players having been withdrawn midway through the trip to Bavaria.

When deciphering who can cope better with these ailments, it is clear that Madrid have the greater strength in depth.

Gareth Bale wasn't even warmed up for the 2-1 win with Marco Asensio and Karim Benzema appearing off the bench. Only Nacho Fernandez was unavailable and even he is likely to be fit to cover for Carvajal next week.

In particular, the emergence of Lucas Vazquez has blurred the lines between starter and reserve for Zinedine Zidane, meaning he has a wealth of options that are all ready to play when required.

Contrast

Jupp Heynckes, meanwhile, was forced to bring on imperfect alternatives in the first leg, typified by central midfielder Thiago Alcantara replacing winger Robben after just eight minutes.

Niklas Sule and Corentin Tolisso also came off the bench, leaving Sandro Wagner and defensive midfielder Sebastian Rudy unused as Die Roten simply lacked the strength in depth on display in Madrid.

How the Bayern boss shuffles his pack without fresh reinforcements for Tuesday's return remains to be seen, but it is a real problem with no obvious answer.

And this factor has been key throughout Real's run so far, typified by the fact Luka Modric and Toni Kroos were able to join Isco, Bale and Nacho on the bench for the second leg at Paris Saint-Germain, a game Los Blancos won regardless.

In fact, PSG have been the only club to come close to matching Zidane's reserves so far in this competition, the likes of Javier Pastore, Julian Draxler, Angel Di Maria and Thiago Silva held back as Unai Emery's side were comfortably knocked out.