The former Los Blancos star has urged Zinedine Zidane's men not to take any unnecessary risks in the first leg against Bayern Munich.
File Photo
Nigeria football great Mutiu Adepoju has stressed that Real Madrid cannot afford to make the mistakes they made against Juventus in the second leg of the Champions League semi-final against Bayern Munich.
Zinedine Zidane’s men looked set to breeze into the last four after a resounding 3-0 first leg victory against the Old Lady in Turin.
However, the Spanish club went to pieces in the return leg, allowing Massimiliano Allegri’s team to score three times to set up a surprisingly tense finale.
Madrid scored a late Cristiano Ronaldo penalty to progress, but the former Real Madrid midfielder acknowledged that the 12-time European champions must work to avoid a repeat of that tortuous fixture, when they face Jupp Heynckes' side at the Allianz Arena.
“My expectation is to see Real Madrid beat Bayern Munich to get to the final where they will emerge as champions for the 13th time,” Adepoju told Goal.
“However, they should take the lessons learnt against Juventus very seriously. No matter how many goals they have scored, the game is not over until the referee blows his final whistle.
“No one would have expected the Italians to score three goals at the Santiago Bernabeu, but they did that and Madrid were almost punished for it. This is football where everything is very possible and [Zinedine] Zidane’s men must have this in mind.
“Knowing the quality in the Bayern Munich squad and the experience of their manager, the game will not be an easy one in Munich as the hosts will come out to get a respectable scoreline going into the final.”
Roma or Liverpool await the victor of the tie in the final and both sides will be desperate to lay down a marker in the first leg, with the tie set to be concluded next week in Madrid.