"To be honest, I don't like it at all," Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said, voicing his surprise at the concerns facing Bayern Munich ahead of the second leg against Real Madrid

Karl-Heinz Rummenigge praised the “football at its finest” on show at the Bernabéu in an interview with DAZN, but the Bayern Munich director also sounded a note of caution: “We still have an important second leg to play. We mustn’t make the mistake of letting too much euphoria take hold now. I sense a bit of hype at the moment, and to be honest, I don’t like it.”

Luis Díaz and Harry Kane had put Bayern 2-0 up in Madrid on Tuesday, and although Real pulled one back through Kylian Mbappé around the 75th minute, Rummenigge, still a member of the German record champions’ supervisory board, refuses to contemplate a semi-final berth just yet. “Real Madrid have caused us enough trouble here in Munich,” warned the 70-year-old, drawing on past experiences to caution against premature celebrations.

Rummenigge looks back to the 2014 Champions League semi-final, when a 1–0 first-leg loss at home to Real Madrid left Bayern Munich cautiously optimistic heading into the return fixture in Madrid. Sergio Ramos struck twice from set pieces inside 20 minutes, effectively ending the tie.

Cristiano Ronaldo then made it 3–0 before half-time, and Real eventually won the second leg 4–0 against Guardiola’s Bayern, cruising into the final. Rummenigge therefore issued a warning for the present: “We need to deliver another absolutely top-class performance next Wednesday. We need to be fully focused, play very intelligently – and try to repeat what we showed on Tuesday.”

Real’s preparation for the return trip to Munich hit a snag on Friday, as the Spaniards could only manage a 1-1 home draw against Girona in LaLiga. A late disallowed penalty left manager Álvaro Arbeloa and his side seething.

Sandwiched between their two meetings with Real Madrid, Bayern Munich travel to FC St. Pauli in Saturday’s Bundesliga outing. A semi-final berth would likely pit them against defending champions Paris Saint-Germain, who underlined their credentials with a 2-0 first-leg win over Liverpool.

Rummenigge says the current club atmosphere echoes 2020, when Bayern completed the treble by beating PSG 1-0 in the final. Rummenigge, the club’s former CEO, says current coach Vincent Kompany is handling the squad much like Hansi Flick did in 2020, when Bayern won the treble. “The team was hungry for that title, and the mood in the club feels the same today,” he explained. Nevertheless, looking ahead to a possible semi-final clash with PSG, he warned: “Beating Real won’t make things any easier.”

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