Barcelona 0-3 Bayern Munich: The German champions heap the MISERY on Xavi and company after they were eliminated before a ball was kicked … with Sadio Mane, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting and Benjamin Pavard all at Camp Nou scoring a goal in defeat
- Bayern Munich beat Barcelona 3-0 at the Camp Nou for the Champions League
- Sadio Mane and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting scored in the first half
- Benjamin Pavard then converted Serge Gnabry’s third assist in added time
- Barça was sentenced this Wednesday to the Europa League by Inter
- The Italians beat Viktoria Pilsen 4-0 and eliminated Barça
Barcelona saluted and drowned at the Camp Nou on Wednesday night – saluting the Champions League for the second season in a row and drowning in another avalanche of goals from Bayern Munich.
It was 3-0 that night and their 5-0 aggregate win from their two group stage games against Germany is a reminder of how far they still have to go to return to the highest level of European football.
To their credit, they had nothing to play for from the start: as soon as Inter beat Viktoria Pilsen in an early kick-off, their presence in the Europa League was assured. But pride was on the line and they saved some after Sadio Mane and Eric Choupo-Moting scored in the first half after the blitz break.
Sadio Mané opened the scoring after 10 minutes for Bayern Munich against Barcelona
Cameroonian striker Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting scored the second in the 31st minute
That pride was on display again after the final whistle when the fans behind the north gate beckoned the players back onto the pitch and they timidly forced themselves to applaud the fans still in the stadium.
As the Barcelona players warmed up before the match, the stadium DJ played AC-DC’s Highway to Hell, which wasn’t the best choice for the pre-match tune under the circumstances.
A morning paper in the city had even headlined “Miracle or Hell” and Inter Milan’s win had made it the latter.
The Camp Nou was packed despite fans knowing it could be over before a ball was kicked, and they whistled the UEFA anthem louder than ever. They still allege a conspiracy for not receiving a seemingly clear penalty for a handball in their away game at Inter.
The Catalan giants were kicked out of the Champions League after Inter defeated Viktoria Pilsen
Her failure to put up more than four points in five games was more than just a match referee, but there was another dubious decision that went against her, and thus there will be no warrant for the claims that she was out for revenge for the Attempt sewn start to Super League to compete with UEFA.
Before this tight decision came Bayern’s two goals in the first half. The first came after 10 minutes and was too easy for the guests. With the Barcelona defense stationed at the midline, Serge Gnabry played a long diagonal to the back and Sadio Mane ran at him, hitting Hector Bellerin before his shot passed to Marc Andre ter Stegen.
The Barcelona fans responded with a crescendo of noise that intensified when Mane Jules Kounde kicked and went unpunished. They loudly agreed soon after when Leon Goretzka turned Sergio Busquets upside down and was booked.
Barça struggled to convert possession into shots while Sven Ulreich was unconcerned.
MATCH FACTS
Barcelona (4-3-3): Ter Stegen; Bellerín, Koundé (García 68 ‘), Alonso, Balde; Kessie, Busquets (Towers 59’), de Jong; Dembele (Fati 68), Lewandowski (Tower 82), Pedri (Raphinha 59)
Unused substitutes: Piqué, Alba, Peña Sotorres, Gavi, Tenas
Reserves: Busquets
Manager: Xavi Hernandez
Bayern Munich (4-2-3-1): Ulreich; Mazraoui (Stansic 79), Upamecano (Pavard 63), De Ligt, Davies; Kimmich, Goretzka; Gnabry, Musiala (Gravenberch 67′), Mané; Choupo-Moting (Müller 63′)
Unused subs: Coman, Sabitzer, Schenk, Tel
Goals: Mane, Choupo-Moting, Pavard
Reserves: Mazraoui, Upamecano, Goretzka
Manager: Nagelsman
Things accelerated when Barça slipped down the left but Robert Lewandowski was the only man in the center and could not finish off.
Ousmane Dembele then jumped past Alphonso Davies and nearly found Pedri as Barca increased their passing and movement speed. But in the half hour they were two behind.
Once again, this high line of defense was helpless against a well-coordinated attack. And again it was Gnabry who played the pass, this time to Choupo-Moting played by Bellerin on the opposite side of Marcos Alonso. The one from Bayern found space for the shot and ter Stegen was once again well beaten.
Not everyone lost their private duel: Dembélé once again had the loss to Davies, though when the train collapsed and a late challenge from Sergio Busquets earned him a yellow card.
Both teams could have scored just before the break. Bellerin and ter Stegen blocked the goal line at one end and Dembele counterattacked at the other end and, for once, his passing matched his rhythm.
It starred Lewandowski, who fell under the challenge of Matthijs de Ligt. Anthony Taylor pointed out the spot and booked it, but reviewing his decision on the sidelines decided that the Polish striker had caused the contact.
The Camp Nou erupted again chanting ‘UEFA is a mafia’ and whistling for the referee at half-time.
There were more encouraging signs for Barcelona after the restart, as Dembélé ran wide on the counterattack and failed to find Lewandowsky.
Benjamin Pavard then made the three with a goal in added time after a Serge Gnabry cross.
And then Balde returned behind Bayern on the left. Despite all Dembélé’s threats, he gave the ball away and a false pass started a counterattack that ended with Gnabry deflecting his shot over ter Stegen. The goal was marked for offside by the VAR.
Xavi added two wingers on the hour but let Dembélé through. He moved to the left, with Raphinha going wide to the right and Ferran Torres playing behind Lewandowski in a 4-2-3-1. Pedri and Busquets left and the latter was whistled by the local fans as he left.
Ansu Fati was the next to enter and this time Dembélé made his way. Fati came close to scoring at his first opportunity, as he only cut off his shot after dribbling all over the Bayern penalty area.
Barcelona were eliminated before kick-off but chased Xavi to the end
Barcelona followed Xavi until the last whistle and this defeat will not disrupt the departure of the young coach. It was just another in a long list of reality checks and things got even worse when Benjamin Pavard scored the third goal with the last significant break of the game.
However, the biggest impact will be felt off the field as lost prize money leaves a hole in the budget. Last year it seemed that the club had excuses not to get out of their Champions League group: they were broke and had just lost Lionel Messi.
This time, after committing his future to €150m, he dared to dream of more, but came comfortably third behind Bayern and Inter.
Germany’s Gnabry played creatively and provided all three assists for his team that night.
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Source: www.dailymail.co.uk
