Pep Guardiola’s Bayern Munich were simply overwhelmed by a fantastic display by Lionel Messi and company. Although Barcelona as a whole put on an admirable tactical display, the individual brilliance of Messi was created all of the buzz following his side’s 3-0 victory.
Barcelona’s top-class front line was automatically an issue for Bayern Munich’s defenders as Suarez gave Boateng the runaround early on and forced a fantastic sliding save from Neuer. Just three minutes had ticked by and Barcelona were already knocking. It became apparent from his first dribbling spell that the magician Messi was on point, a threat that Guardiola was wary of ahead of the fixture.
The home side were the first ones to establish themselves, forcing early saves from Neuer and even a tactical change from Bayern, who had started with three at the back but pushed Rafinha to an outside-back position to help defend against the mesmerizing one-two’s and quick dribbling from Barcelona. Bayern’s man-to-man marking system worked splendidly until the dribbling skills of Messi, Neymar and Suarez required more than one man to attempt to poke away the ball inside the 18.
The two sides were held to a tantalizing 0-0 draw in the first forty-five. Barcelona were without a doubt the dominant side, pushing numerous attacks on Bayern Munich while up top for the visitors Lewandowski and Muller had hardly gotten a taste of the action.
Any side coached by Pep Guardiola will not succumb that easily to a tactical challenge. In the second half Bayern came out looking like a new team with a new strategy and managed to control the play. Their 53% total possession at the end of the match came mostly from their improved passing game in the second half. Right off the bat Lewandowski was brought down by Alves, the Brazilian really having no other choice but to foul the Polish striker or else he’d have a good look at goal. That play in the opening moments of the second half set the tone for a better forty-five from Bayern Munich.
Barcelona were still pushing impressively for a breakthrough and they were doing it in style. The three men up top continued to spin together intricate strings of passes and flourished their runs into the area with perfectly weighted touches and dribbles. Neymar had a shot fly over the bar and was denied admirably by Neuer once again, Suarez came close with a few shots dragged wide but finally in the 77th minute the magician found the breakthrough.
Bayern lost the ball on the wing and all it took was a neat ball to the feet of Lionel Messi. With a lightning fast turn and a small tap into space, he fired a powerful shot past Neuer to put the home side one up. Just two minutes later, Barcelona fans were once again bowing down to the pure brilliance of Messi as he netted his 77th Champions League goal to overtake Cristiano Ronaldo for the standing record. Boateng had played out a relatively solid game at back for the visitors but he was absolutely obliterated by the genius dribbling skills from the Argentine. Messi topped off his picture-perfect juke past the defender with a neat chip over the head of the best goalkeeper in world football. If any man could do it, it would be Lionel Messi.
Bayern were stunned and humiliated. Twice they had been caught pushing too many men forward and not transitioning fast enough to deal with the Barcelona strikers. To the home side’s credit, they timed their plays perfectly and transitioned into the attack quickly enough to take advantage of a side like Bayern Munich. Barcelona were a tad messy at the back and conceded a few free-kicks from distance which are very much a danger against a side with the height and aerial force of Bayern but the German side were unable to capitalize on any of them. To ice the cake on one of the best nights in Champions League history, Messi teed off a perfectly weighted pass to Neymar who made easy work of his marker with a brilliant first touch into space and then very cooly slotted the ball past Neuer.
While it was a bit of a nightmare for Bayern Munich, they are no strangers to bringing an unfavorable scoreline to Bavaria. Barcelona are surely wary of the threat that their former manager and his side pose at the Allianz Arena. Football fans around the world will be thrilled that this spectacular fixture lived up to all of its expectations and gave us one of the best games of football that many have seen in their lifetime.
