Bayern Munich dismantled Barcelona take a 4-0 lead on aggregate (FIFA.com)
I didn't think I'd ever see this day, honestly, the day when this incarnation of Barcelona was outplayed, outclassed, outhustled, and basically out-everythinged on the football pitch. Bayern Munich accomplished just that though, and did it in absolute style. The overriding feeling I had watching the match, especially in the second half, was like I was watching a charged up teenager totally dismantle a finely tuned watch or clock. It really was a spectacle.
Bayern served notice right off the bat, as Barcelona barely had time to try to get their passing game going before the German side was launching an attack at goal. In the second minute of the match Arjen Robben found the ball in the box and drove a shot in on Victor Valdes, but the Barca 'keeper proved himself awake and alert, stopping the shot and ending the first threat.
Barca got their first look of the match on nine minutes. Pique got a decent look at the Bayern goal off of a corner kick, but steered his header wide of the target. It would be pretty much the only first half highlight for Barca, though at that point they must have felt a little better for surviving the early minutes in Munich.
That illusion quickly evaporated in minute 25 though as the Germans took the lead and established one of the themes of the evening: Barca could not deal with balls in from wide, especially in the air. Bayern defender Dante headed a cross back into the area, where a diving Thomas Muller headed it off of Valdes and inside the near post to give Bayern the 1-0 lead.
Barcelona continued with their style, clearly it wasn't time to panic despite being down a goal fairly early. They held on to the ball and managed their usual 60+ percent possession, but there really was not a lot of purpose to it. They came close to finding Messi in the six on 28 minutes, but Dante was alert to the incoming pass and tapped it out for a corner kick, which came to nothing. That was the last significant action of a first half that finished 1-0 to the home side.
Bayern came out in the second half and immediately turned up the heat on Barca. The Spanish again found their interior defense exposed in the 49th minute. Bayern sent in a corner, and this time it was Muller who got the first head to it, dropping it down to Mario Gomez, who neatly dropped the ball into the net from about one yard out to make it 2-0 to the Germans. Replays showed that Gomez was probably a fraction offside, and it really was close, but the goal stood.
However Bayern were not content and continued to pepper the Barcelona goal with quality chances. In the 55th minute Robben dropped a nice little ball off to Frank Ribery in the 18, and the Frenchman sent a shot blazing the opposite way across the six. It was too far out for Victor Valdes to grab, but fortunately for Barca, the ball rolled just wide of the far post. Then just three minutes later Bayern nearly punished Barcelona on a set piece again as Robben directed a header toward goal off of a free kick. This one floated wide as well, letting Barca breathe again, for the moment anyway.
Barcelona's best chance of the match came in the the 69th minute. Defender Marc Bartra got a good look at the goal from an angle, but mishit his shot, sending it floating harmlessly over the crossbar. One could just hear Barca fans thinking "If only it was one of our other players with that shot."
Following that miss, Bayern iced the match with two goals late on. In the 73rd minute Robben made a run into the box, getting around a Barcelona defender, and slotting the ball inside the far post to make it 3-0. It really was class finish by the Dutchman, but again the goal was not without controversy as Thomas Muller threw a clear pick on the Barca defender to help free up Robben. It probably should have been a foul.
Bayern finally put the nail in the coffin for the match, and probably the whole tie, in the 82nd minute. Again Bayern beat the Barca defense with a ball in from wide as David Alaba sent a ball across the six. Muller was there waiting for it and tapped it in for his second goal of the match which made it 4-0 to Bayern Munich, which was still the score at full time.
It really was the finest performances I've seen in all the Champions League matches that I've laid eyes on. In fact it was kind of tough to watch. Barcelona certainly had their fair share of the possession (66%), but they could do absolutely nothing with it. It truly was possession without a purpose. Barcelona fans will certainly point to the fact that Lionel Messi was not anywhere near 100%. Now, I'm not a master of tactics, but I'm not sure a healthier Messi would have done all that much good. One can certainly argue that Messi at full strength would have given Barca's possession more purpose, but unless he was going to go back and play central defense in front of goal as well, I can't say that Bayern could have been stopped when they attacked. Barca have been exposed from wide and on set pieces constantly during the Champions League this year, but have pretty much always been the better team and able to neutralize the weakness with their passing and possession game, but Bayern was quite obviously a class above anyone else they've played, including AC Milan and PSG.
No, Bayern deserve full credit for this performance, no matter what Messi did or didn't do. They gummed up the internal works for Barca all day, never letting them get into sync. Whenever Barca did start to get things going, the Germans were coming in with a hard foul or a slide tackle, taking Barca totally out of their game.
Now Barcelona face an uphill task next week at Camp Nou. Without a road goal, they'll not only have to beat Bayern by 4, but they'll have to put up a clean sheet as well. Good luck with that. Also, Jordi Alba drew a late yellow for hitting Robben in the face with the ball and will now miss that match. Finally, with the Bundesliga all wrapped up, Bayern Munich will certainly rest their front line players over the weekend so that they'll be fresh and ready to go next Wednesday.
No comments:
Post a Comment