Major concerns for the Royals? Real Madrid face a nightmare scenario against Bayern Munich in the Champions League

This is because, following the round of 16 matches against Manchester City, no fewer than six key players are facing suspension for the second leg, which will be played at the Allianz Arena should Bayern progress.

Kylian Mbappé has now joined the quintet already at risk for the return leg against the Cityzens, comprising the currently injured Jude Bellingham, Dean Huijsen, Aurelien Tchouameni, Alvaro Carreras and Vinicius Junior.

The French attacking star made his comeback in the Royals’ 2-1 win over Man City after sitting out five matches due to persistent knee problems, and received his second yellow card of the current campaign shortly after coming on as a substitute.

The issue of yellow card suspensions in the quarter-finals had already been a major concern for FC Bayern. Joshua Kimmich, Michael Olise and Dayot Upamecano had already picked up two yellow cards ahead of the first leg of the round of 16 in Bergamo. When the match then took a decidedly one-sided turn in favour of the record champions, with a 6-0 lead on the scoreboard at one stage, Kimmich and Olise, at least, reacted by time-wasting, earning themselves suspensions for the second leg.

A circumstance that was certainly the subject of heated debate, at least amongst the German public. Because Kimmich and Olise were accused of deliberate behaviour, quite a few people speculated that this might have further consequences and that the two key players might be suspended not for one, but for two matches.

A two-match ban imposed by UEFA on Sergio Ramos in 2019 following the first leg of Real Madrid’s round of 16 tie against Ajax Amsterdam (2-1) served as a precedent. In a post-match interview, Ramos openly admitted to having deliberately picked up the yellow card. “It’s not that I underestimate the opposition, but sometimes you have to make these decisions and that’s what I did,” Ramos said at the time.

Kimmich, Olise and all the Bayern players who were subsequently questioned about the incident handled the situation more wisely. Whilst Olise was, as usual, rather taciturn after the first leg in Bergamo, Kimmich at least provided an explanation for his yellow card that UEFA apparently found plausible, which is why no further investigations were launched against either of the Munich players.

In all his TV and mixed-zone interviews, he pointed out that he had no passing options when taking a free-kick in his own half and did not want to play into the opposition’s pressing. Furthermore, he was actually annoyed about the booking because he is the sort of player who wants to “make every game count”.

Although Olise and Kimmich will now miss the second leg, the record champions are expected to reach the Champions League quarter-finals on Wednesday evening, where they will face Real Madrid. Alvaro Arbeloa was already certain of this on Tuesday and issued a warning about the German record champions.

“Bayern are one of the teams in the best form in Europe,” Arbeloa stated, raving about the FCB’s “style of play” and “calibre”: “It will be very difficult, especially with the second leg in Munich.” Was he already thinking about the looming yellow card suspensions facing his six stars?

At least Vinicius Junior, who is also on a yellow card, was already in a fighting mood. "Let’s take them on!" exclaimed the Brazilian, looking ahead to the very likely quarter-final opponents from southern Germany.