This was Barca's worst defeat in Europe since they were beaten by the same scoreline by Dynamo Kiev in 1997, and no team has lost the first leg of a European Cup tie by four or more goals and progressed to the next round.Former Chelsea winger Arjen Robben tormented a desperately vulnerable Barcelona defence, adding a third before Mueller got his second near the end to surely put this tie out of even Barcelona's reach. Even though the Spanish side were struggling for rhythm, Barcelona's quality meant danger was never far away. And so it proved as it took a crucial touch from Dante to take Dani Alves' delivery away from the lurking Messi.Barca coach Tito Vilanova gambled and lost on a clearly unfit Lionel Messi - but to suggest this was the prime factor behind this crushing loss is to do a grave disservice to Bayern.Messi was declared fit to play and started for Barcelona despite concerns about the hamstring injury he sustained in the previous round against Paris St Germain. He looked a long way from his usual brilliance - but he was not alone as buoyant Bayern took control of proceedings.Former Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola will replace Heynckes in the summer but this dignified 67-year-old elder statesman may well leave behind the Champions League trophy.On a pitch that showed signs of being heavily watered, Bayern gave Barca a taste of their own medicine with a high-intensity pressing game aided by the confidence of an outstanding season in which the Bundesliga was secured on 6 April, the earliest it has ever been won.Thomas Mueller gave Bayern an early lead and their superiority was confirmed when Mario Gomez added a second just after half-time.
Tuesday, 23 April 2013
Bayern Munich cemented
This was Barca's worst defeat in Europe since they were beaten by the same scoreline by Dynamo Kiev in 1997, and no team has lost the first leg of a European Cup tie by four or more goals and progressed to the next round.Former Chelsea winger Arjen Robben tormented a desperately vulnerable Barcelona defence, adding a third before Mueller got his second near the end to surely put this tie out of even Barcelona's reach. Even though the Spanish side were struggling for rhythm, Barcelona's quality meant danger was never far away. And so it proved as it took a crucial touch from Dante to take Dani Alves' delivery away from the lurking Messi.Barca coach Tito Vilanova gambled and lost on a clearly unfit Lionel Messi - but to suggest this was the prime factor behind this crushing loss is to do a grave disservice to Bayern.Messi was declared fit to play and started for Barcelona despite concerns about the hamstring injury he sustained in the previous round against Paris St Germain. He looked a long way from his usual brilliance - but he was not alone as buoyant Bayern took control of proceedings.Former Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola will replace Heynckes in the summer but this dignified 67-year-old elder statesman may well leave behind the Champions League trophy.On a pitch that showed signs of being heavily watered, Bayern gave Barca a taste of their own medicine with a high-intensity pressing game aided by the confidence of an outstanding season in which the Bundesliga was secured on 6 April, the earliest it has ever been won.Thomas Mueller gave Bayern an early lead and their superiority was confirmed when Mario Gomez added a second just after half-time.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment