‘Real’s moment has arrived’ insists fired-up Ronaldo

Real lost 2-1 to Bayern in the first leg last week but followed that with a 2-1 victory over Barcelona at the Nou Camp on Saturday, increasing their lead over their arch-rivals to seven points with four matches to go. And to reach the Champions League final, only a win at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium will do.

“The team’s moment has arrived,” said Cristiano Ronaldo, who scored his record 42nd league goal on Saturday against Barcelona.

“It’s a big game and we’re going to win it because we’re playing in front of our fans.”

The statistics are encouraging for Real, who have rallied to win five out of the seven ties where they have trailed 2-1 after the first leg, and they have also won all five of their European home games this season. Only Ajax in 1972-73 and AS Roma in 2007-08 have managed hold off Real after beating them 2-1 at home in the first leg.

But Bayern have a key statistic in their favour too, having beaten the Spanish giants in three of four semi-finals. “We know that, after the first leg result that Bayern will look to the counter-attack, but we also expect them to show a lot of respect toward us since we’re playing at home,” Ronaldo added.

Jose Mourinho, who guided Inter Milan past Bayern in the 2010 final at the Bernabeu, has led Madrid into back-to-back semi-finals since his arrival as coach. Knowing his team must score, Mourinho will likely change from the defensive tactics he used last week against Bayern when Madrid looked content to protect a 1-1 draw before Mario Gomez scored the winner in the 90th minute. Brazil defender Marcelo may start at full-back in place of Fabio Coentrao with at least a goal necessary, while Brazil playmaker Kaka could also start the must-win match.

“Bayern knows if it doesn’t score goals, it’s out,” Mourinho said Tuesday. “I don’t expect the Germans to play defensively.”