Underwhelming Real will have to be better at Bayern

MADRID - Real Madrid might be the favorite for the Champions League, but a 1-1 draw against Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday will hardly have struck fear into Bayern Munich.

Zinedine Zidane's side started complacently at Santiago Bernabeu and ended frantically, with Cristiano Ronaldo's 87th-minute equalizer canceling out a delightful early chip from Athletic's Inaki Williams.

Barcelona's commanding lead at the top of La Liga, which now stands at 12 points over Atletico Madrid and 15 on Real, means these matches carry reduced significance and inevitably lack a certain edge.