Bayern 2-0 Barca: The Gray Tigers bring sadness to the Cules again
Of the three matches against Barca since April, this is Bayern’s lowest-scoring match, but also the most relaxed. They didn’t win big because they played… like they were joking.
Bayern (dark shirt) had no difficulty defeating Barca's reserve team.
GOAL
Bayern:Lahm (13'); Mandzukic (85')
Barca’s inability to bring their best squad to Germany had led many to predict another “suppression” by Bayern. But no one expected Barca to be so stuck. At the Allianz Stadium, they played like a lower-class club, completely confused and without a specific plan.
After Messi’s early burst and shot, Barca began a confused defensive effort. Still using the style that had “humiliated” the Spaniards a few months ago, even more complicated with backheels or showy short passes (is this the mark of Pep Guardiola?), they forced the visitors to struggle to defend. Ribery, Robben, Alaba, Mueller and Lahm continuously directed beautiful attacks, creating “jobs” for Barca goalkeeper Pinto.
With a midfield completely devoid of tiki-taka players like Xavi, Inivesta or Busquets, Barca didn’t know what kind of football to play. All they could do was rush out to steal the ball from Bayern players when the opposition had it, then somehow, perhaps with a long pass, get the ball to Messi so he could find a way to break through. Barca’s defensive quartet, consisting of two young players, Montoya, Bartra and a midfielder, Mascherano, had a hard time, especially with the excellent movement of Ribery and Robben.
Bayern’s goal was the height of ridicule: in the 13th minute, from a centimeter-perfect pass from Ribery outside the box, the ball fell to Lahm, and with just a slight stretch, the Bayern captain put the ball into the net to open the score. Barca lost because of a header from a 1m70 tall player – truly the ultimate helplessness.
In the second half, there were a few boos when Barca replaced their entire squad, already young, with almost unknown players.
But surely many spectators at Allianz will feel dissatisfied, because despite "making trouble" for Barca for most of the match, Bayern's subjectivity and coquetry caused them to only score one more goal in the second half. In the 85th minute, from Contento's cross, Mandzukic finished sensitively to seal a 2-0 victory for Bayern.
LINEUP
Bayern Munich:Neuer (Starke, 45'), Rafinha (Can, 72'), Boateng, Dante, Alaba, Lahm (Gustavo, 56'), Thiago (Pizarro, 72'), Kroos (Schweinsteiger, 66'), Robben (Mandzukic, 45'), Muller (Shaqiri 45'), Ribery (Contento, 66').
Barcelona:Pinto (Oier, 45'), Montoya (Kiko, 45'), Bartra (Gomez, 45'), Mascherano (Planas, 45'), Adriano (Patric, 45'), J.Dos Santos (Quintilla, 45'), Song (Ilie 45'), Roberto (Espinosa, 45'), Tello (Joan Roman, 45'), Sanchez, Messi (Dougou 45').
According to Bongdaplus - DT
