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In the Champions League, Bayern Munich will meet Bayer Leverkusen with a probability of 50 percent in the round of 16. It would be a duel that German football needs again.
A brief explanation that can also be found here in detail: Due to the Champions League reform, as in the draw of the intermediate round, there is so-called lottery pairs among the already qualified round of 16 for the round of 16. All teams who play along know in advance which two opponents are possible. For Leverkusen, this are Bayern or Real Madrid, for Bayern next to the Werkelf Atletico Madrid.
The tournament tree of the Champions League
Three duels between Bayer and Bavaria this season – no clear result
Now it is not the case that football Germany has not seen this encounter a few times. On the 5th Bundesliga matchday in September, the Bavarian defensive Leverkusen dominated, but did not get beyond a 1-1. In the round of 16 of the DFB Cup in December, Bayern were well in the game despite the former red card against Manuel Neuer, but lost 0-1. In the last duel, the league leading game less than a week ago, Leverkusen was overwhelmed, but still missed the winning goal against weak Municher in the 0-0 0: 0 and probably has to check off the championship.
The Bavarians, and those who keep it with them, should have gone from this last game, despite the very harmless idea: In view of a distance of eight points to the second -placed Werkelf in the league hike. The Leverkuseners are likely to be annoyed about the latter (even if Xabi Alonso, of course, did not want to tick off the title after the game), but in the social media you also read the Leverkusen pride over the dominant idea against the Munich Certainty that the rival has just been switched off in the trophy.
Who is the best team this season?
The question of who is the best team in Germany this season was not clearly answered last week. Is it the (clear) league leader of the Bundesliga, who has been consistently convincing in the past few weeks and has only taken the Playoff-Umweg into the round of round of 16 of the premier class? Or is it the second in the table that has played excellently in the Champions League, is still represented in the cup and clearly dominated the last meeting without winning it?
There is no current answer behind which a convincing majority gathered. Even a non-representative survey within the Sportschau editorial team did not show a clear mood. If the Leverkuseners were sensational in the Bundesliga title race, or if the Werkelf would suddenly collapse completely and still enter various defeats, the matter would probably have been decided in one direction, but a really realistic path to a clear answer would be not. Except on Friday in Nyon, where the games for the 4th/5th and 11./12. March are drawn.
“Football Germany” needs the final for supremacy
Because as in the famous hypothetical box of the physicist Erwin Schrödinger, in which an even more famous hypothetical cat is locked up, which is equally alive and dead until you open the box and get security, the best team in Germany is just Bavarian this season Leverkusen or Bayern Munich. The direct duel is needed. Germany’s football final is needed in the most important competition in Europe.