Real down but not out

Real down but not out in Champions League semifinal Kevin Fylan

Real Madrid insist they can still land a third Champions League title in four years, despite Tuesday's 1-0 defeat by Bayern Munich in the semifinal first leg at the Bernabeu.

Real dominated possession but were frustrated by outstanding defending by the German side for whom Brazilian striker Elber hit a 55th minute winner to earn a valuable lead to take into the second leg.

But Real believe they can still make it through to the final in Milan on May 23 and stay on course for an unprecedented ninth European Cup success.

"We were much better than Bayern Munich," said midfielder Ivan Helguera.

"We did everything but score but it was Bayern who went away with the win. It's going to be very tough but we're optimistic.

"I'm sure we're going to make it through to the final."

Portuguese forward Luis Figo agreed the result hardly reflected the balance of play.

"They were defending for the entire game only to get a favourable result," he lamented.

"But we've demonstrated with our attacking football that we're more than capable of turning this result around." Newspapers in Spain, who were roundly critical of Bayern's defensive approach, hit upon the suspension of Stefan Effenberg for the second leg as at least one cause for hope. But that view was rejected by Real coach Vicente del Bosque, who said he had been very impressed by Bayern's display. "While recognising Effenberg's importance and talent, Bayern have other very good players to come in," said del Bosque. "I'm sure they won't feel his absence in the second leg. STRONG DEFENCE "The key for Bayern was their efficiency in defence. Goalkeeper Oliver Kahn was a major part of that but Kuffour, Andersson, Linke and Lizarazu were all outstanding too." For Bayern, Tuesday's result was all the more satisfying in the light of last year's four-match series against Real in the Champions League. In last season's campaign, Bayern beat Real convincingly home and away in the second group stage -- with an aggregate score of 8-3 in their favour -- but lost the crucial away leg of the semifinal 2-0 at the Bernabeu. They made it three wins out of four with a 2-1 victory in Munich but that was not enough to prevent Real going on to reach the final, which they won 3-0 against Valencia. "Last year we didn't see the best of Bayern in the semifinal games," Lizarazu said after the game. "This time we were very strong in defence, which we had to be given the quality of the Real forwards. "In the second leg we'll see a different Bayern, though. We'll have the crowd on our side and we'll have a lot more chances, as will Real."