Barcelona 8 – 2 see this !
- Bayern Munich put eight goals past Barcelona in a long night at Lisbon
- Thomas Muller, Ivan Perisic and Serge Gnabry all scored within the opening half an hour of the match
- Robert Lewandowski netted his 54th goal of the season before Philippe Coutinho added a late double
- Mental Health and Psychosocial considerations during the COVID-19 pandemic
Bayern Munich put eight past hapless Barcelona.
It was billed as the match of the season.
Robert Lewandowski versus Lionel Messi. Two individuals whose contributions in their respective teams have been vital.
Messi raked in 25 goals and 21 assists for the Nou Camp side in the league. The Polish striker with 34 goals and 4 assists for the Bavarians.
The stage was set. A spectacle awaited.
At the blow of the final whistle, only one thing was clear.
It was a quintessential Bayern performance that put tears in Barcelona
An expression of domination of one side over the other.
The opening goal came after just four minutes, started by Ivan Perisic on the left. He played an excellent ball in for Thomas Muller, whose one-two with Lewandowski left Barcelona’s back line bamboozled. Muller made his finish look easy – in reality the ball was dropping slightly behind him, requiring a late adjustment to shoot past ter Stegen. He was on his way to a man of the match performance.
It was a blow for Barcelona but there was little sign of the calamity to come. Indeed, initially, they looked to have got away with it. Just three minutes later, Jordi Alba sped down the left flank and, always a good idea, aimed for Luis Suarez. It fell to David Alaba to deal with the danger and he did not rise to the occasion. Alaba sliced at the ball and succeeded only in sending it spinning past Manuel Neuer and into the net.
Ironically, Munich continued to look vulnerable defensively. A Messi free-kick somehow eluded Sergio Busquets and a cluster of unmarked Barcelona players, before striking the far post with Neuer nowhere. Had that gone in, who knows? Instead, in a ten minute first-half spell, Munich responded by taking Barcelona apart.
There were three goals scored between the 21st and 31st minutes, plus at least one other chance. At times, it was like watching a rerun of the World Cup semi-final in 2014, when Germany put seven past Brazil. The hosts’ faith in their system was exposed that day, and it was much the same here. Barcelona tried to play the Barcelona way, Munich regarded it with disdain and by the end, both sets of players seemed in agreement. Nobody can say Barcelona went down fighting, or even defending their honour.
By the end Barcelona looked haunted. So they should. Munich had 26 attempts at goal, and eight different players credited with assists.
That was the sort of statistic that used to be associated with another famous football club. Remember them? The artists formerly known as Barcelona.
