The Blaugrana never looked like they had a
chance to mount a comeback, and never came close to doing so against a
brilliant Bayern Munich side.
Those who
expected Barcelona to mount some sort of comeback on Wednesday night
will be sorely disappointed after the Blaugrana's lackluster display. Bayern Munich were every bit as good at the Camp Nou as they were at home, winning 3-0 on the night to defeat the Catalans 7-0 on aggregate.
It was apparent from the game's
outset that Barcelona had little to no chance of erasing the four goal
deficit in front of them. The first significant play of the match was a
backpass by Dani Alves
to Victor Valdes under heavy pressure, which the referee failed to
spot. While no goals were produced by either team in the first half,
that desperate backpass and all of the events that ensued in the the
period were a sign of things to come.
With Barcelona constantly
needing to take risks, Bayern had plenty of lanes to counter into. The
hosts were also very impatient and gave the ball away in dangerous areas
much more frequently than they used to. Only some brilliant defending
by Gerard Pique, on multiple occasions, kept the Bavarians from scoring in the first half and completely ending the tie. He blocked a shot by Philipp Lahm in the 10th minute, stripped Arjen Robben of the ball on a break in the 14th minute and cut out a dangerous cross by Lahm in the 20th.
Barcelona's only significant chance of the first half came on a 35-yard drive from Pedro, which Manuel Neuer didn't have much trouble with. With Lionel Messi
on the bench, they didn't appear to have any kind of bite, and given
how well Bayern's midfield and defense played, it's unlikely that Messi
would have made the difference.
Robben ended the tie for good just four minutes into the second half. After picking up a fantastic switch from David Alaba,
Robben cut inside from the right flank onto his favored left foot and
curled a gorgeous shot around Valdes into the side netting at the far
post, giving his side a 1-0 lead on the night. That goal meant that
Barcelona had an impossible six-goal margin to make up.
Things only got worse for the
Blaugrana. Pique, one of the only men for Barcelona who could honestly
say he'd played an excellent game up until the 72nd minute, turned in a
rather embarrassing own goal to add one more to Bayern's tally. He
attempted to cut out a Franck Ribery cross, but the ball hit off his knee and ricochet into the back of the net in comical fashion.
David Villa
struck the post with a header a couple of minutes after that, but the
next goal would belong to Bayern as well. Ribery was a major part of the
goal once again, beating Alves down the flank and putting in a cross
for Thomas Müller, who got up high enough to reach the ball and nod it
into the back of the net.
Bayern entered the game with
many of their stars facing potential suspension, but will head to
Wembley with their best possible squad intact. Lahm, Javi Martinez and Bastian Schweinsteiger
were all substituted off before they picked up a booking, while Dante
sat out this game with flu-like symptoms. Luis Gustavo, a substitute,
and Mario Gomez, who did not play, also kept themselves out of the book to remain available for the final.
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