Barcelona 0-3 Bayern Munich as-it-happened: Catch up on another Champions League masterclass
Barcelona 0-3 Bayern Munich as-it-happened: Catch up on another Champions League masterclass
No Messi, no hope! The Catalans were owned by the Bavarians for a second time. Re-live the end of an era here...
Two to watch:Xavi and Franck Ribery
David Ramos
01 May,
22:11
There hasn't been a more obvious end to an era since CDs replaced old
tapes - younger readers should probably ask their parents what a
Walkman was.
Barcelona were completely outplayed by Bayern Munich
for the second time as the torch was passed from Spain to set up an
all-German Final at Wembley against Borussia Dortmund.
The writing
was on the wall when the Spaniard's team sheet was submitted sans one
Lionel Messi and without their talisman, Barcelona were exposed as
nothing more than ordinary.
Far from simply preserving their four
goal advantage, Bayern were ruthless and second-half goals from the
outstanding Robben (who even seems to have learned how to tackle),
Muller and a sensational volley into his own net by Pique gave the
Germans a 7-0 aggregate win.
Fußball is coming home!
You can read the full match report here.
We'll
be back with more blogging for this weekend's Premier League games.
Until then, it's goodnight from me and Auf Wiedersehen from them.
01 May,
21:54
Former England golden boy Michael Owen asks this on Twitter: "I
wonder who would be favourites now in an international match between
Spain and Germany? #powershift"
The misery is over for
Barcelona and then Champions League final will be played between Bayern
Munich and Borussia Dortmund. The Germans had better prepare themselves
for the taste of some sub-standard beer...Fußball is coming home!
01 May,
21:30
In typical fashion, Bayern are refusing to offer the downtrodden
Spaniards any mercy and are still attacking at will with substitute
Rafinha finding space before the side netting. Barcelona players appear
as if they would take the end of the world or the final whistle in any
order.
01 May,
21:24
Arjen Robben was struggling to come to terms with his newfound popularity.
Mike Hewitt
01 May,
21:22
BBC Chief Sports Writer Phil McNulty had this to say on
Twitter:"Bayern 7-0 up on Barca on aggregate. Utterly humiliating for
Barcelona, their fans at home & their disciples abroad"
01 May,
21:20
Pique lets his frustration get the better of him by sliding in hard
on Muller and then arguing excessively with the linesman - possibly in
the hope of ending this nightmare and returning home to the consoling
arms of his world famous pop songstress missus. Who wouldn't?
01 May,
21:19
Goal! Barcelona 0-3 BAYERN MUNICH.
Oh very dear! Muller has
made it 7-0 on aggregate simply by wanting to win a far post header more
than both Barca defenders and Valdes. The young German now has as many
Champions League goals as Messi this season.
Two more players in danger of missing the final - Martinez and Lahm - have been taken off.
01 May,
21:14
Goal! Barcelona 0-2 BAYERN MUNICH.
Barcelona have finally
SCORED! It's an amazing volley from Pique...but unfortunately into his
own net after a cross from Ribery. You can hear the sounds of the
tiki-taka death knell ringing.
01 May,
21:09
Gary Lineker has obviously been eating fortune cookies: "We're
witnessing the beginning of the end of an era for Barca, and the end of
the beginning of an era for Bayern."
01 May,
21:08
Iniesta has now been taken off to join Xavi and Messi on the bench -
not so much saving their star players for the weekend as signalling the
end of an era?
Schweinsteiger has also been substituted, but he's
been rested for a more exalted occasion. The German is replaced by
Gustavo who is also a booking away from missing the final - that must
have done the world for his confidence.
01 May,
21:05
Matt Dickinson of The Times noted on Twitter:"Bayern fans chanting 'ole' as their team knock it about in the Nou Camp..."
01 May,
21:03
The game seems to have descended to something resembling a Bayern
testimonial as the Spaniards heads have dropped and the Germans are
striving forward almost nonchalantly.
Robben is skipping past
players without actually moving forward and there doesn't even seem any
point in bringing on Messi now - from masterplan to messyplan!
01 May,
20:57
And a Barcelona substitution has been made... but it's Sanchez for
Xavi. Bayern might want to consider taking off some of their players who
are a booking away from missing the final.
And an ageing Alan
Shearer, oh sorry it's Arjen Robben, has just effectively ended the game
by cutting in from the right and curling one in with his left foot -
where have we seen that at the Nou Camp before?
Messi only needs to score six when he comes on now.
01 May,
20:47
And, the second half is underway.
Jamie Redknapp has described
Barcelona without Messi like watching the Rolling Stones without Mick
Jagger, we'd go as far as to say like watching the Jimi Hendrix
Experience without Jimi (Keith could carry the Stones for a while).
01 May,
20:43
Danny Baker also has one: "I think Real Madrid and Barcelona should
stage an alternate final at same time as CL one. Telling me you wouldn't
watch?"
01 May,
20:42
Comedian David Baddiel has an alternative plan on Twitter: "I think
Barcelona should just think f*ck it and put on Reginald D. Hunter."
01 May,
20:41
Barcelona have once again been exposed as ordinary without their talismanic striker Lionel Messi in the first-half.
If
Bayern were not already confident enough by nature, news that the
Argentine would not start seemed to give them even bigger Ballacks. The
Germans have continued to press hard to deny Barcelona any time on the
ball and have had by far the best opportunities in the opening 45
minutes.
Barca's supposed tactics of hoping to edge ahead before
brining on Messi to change the game later on has been a disaster.
Wembley caterers should start ordering the Bratwursts now!
01 May,
20:35
The cavalry is waiting...but will Messi ride to the rescue in the second half?
David Ramos
01 May,
20:32
Half-time: Barcelona 0-0 Bayern Munich.
On the stroke of
half-time Alvez is cautioned for a rash challenge on Schweinsteiger that
has left the world's most German looking person in agony.
Back to the dressing room and hopefully Tito will come to the conclusion that to get better they need to get Messi.
01 May,
20:28
Sports writer Ian Ridley had this to say on Twitter: "Who was it who
said that Frank Ribery is Gary Neville drawn by Picasso? Hats off to
whoever."
01 May,
20:27
Adriano strides forward and decides to have a long-range effort but
seems to remember who he is midway through and scuffs a tame effort
towards Neuer - who appears to be a small child in a giant's body, like
an all-inclusive David and Goliath.
01 May,
20:22
Robben twinkle toes his way into another dangerous position but delays on his shot to allow Pique to block.
Messi may only be 50% fit but without him Barcelona only look half a team.
01 May,
20:19
From our in-house wag at MirrorFootball on Twitter: "When do Barcelona start, y'know, trying?"
01 May,
20:17
Some nice link up play between Xavi and Iniesta leads to a
half-chance for Fabregas in the box but, ultimately, its one one-two too
many and the move breaks down...imagine Arsenal at their worst.
Meanwhile, Robben is surprisingly booked for a foul on Song.
01 May,
20:13
Fabregas passes the ball to Villa in a dangerous area - but the
striker obviously isn't used to that happening when Messi is playing and
is left completely confounded.
Xavi has Barcelona's best chance yet but sends his close range volley sailing over the crossbar.
01 May,
20:10
Forget tiki-taka for a moment, Barcelona are currently being reduced
to long-range efforts, although Pedro's stinging shot was good enough to
get even Napoleon Dynamite's vote!
01 May,
20:06
Lahm is the second Bayern player to almost put the game to death but
Pique slides in to take the ball from his feet moments before he strikes
it from a few yards out.
Bayern have been the more impressive
side in the opening 20minutes and seem to be hitting Barcelona on the
break almost at will. Conspiracy theorists will be forgiven for arguing
that Senor Guardiola has been giving away a few secrets.
01 May,
20:00
Robben. man-of-the-match in the first leg, almost kills the game
before its been born but the fragile Dutchman shoots straight at Valdes
when one on one with the keeper.
Barcelona are still trying to
find some rhythm with their passing but are being frustrated by the
German's pressing. Alves finds himself in some space in the penalty area
but his teammates appear to have forgotten to follow his lead.
01 May,
19:57
BBC pundit and former goal hanger Gary Lineker is getting impatient: "It's clearly not working for Barca. Bring on Messi!"
01 May,
19:54
No sooner has Fabregas sent Villa through at one end than Bayern
break with a series of controlled passes to offer Lahm an opportunity at
the opposite end.
In other news, Alex Song appears to have stopped messing around with dyeing his hair in favour of a neat short back and sides.
01 May,
19:51
Bayern have started where they left off in the first game, by
pressing Barcelona immediately before they can begin their death by a
1000 passes routine.
Apparently, Guardiola's rule at the Nou Camp
was to win the ball back within seven seconds of losing possession -
German efficiency appears to have reduced that to five seconds.
01 May,
19:47
And the game at the Nou Camp is underway. Barcelona claim to be 'More than a club', but are the team 'More than a Messi'?
The Germans have a steely eyed look of determination about them - normally seen ahead of penalty shoot-outs against England.
01 May,
19:43
Barcelona striker David Villa will have to bear an incredible weight
of expectation, despite admitting he might have to leave the club in the
summer...although a move to Arsenal is apparently beyond its sell-by date.
The
anthem has been played, hands have been shaken and pennants exchanged
(not involving Jermaine)...we're seconds away from kick off.
01 May,
19:38
Messi is NOT in the team!
We're in an absolute state of shock
at the news so goodness knows how all of Catalunya is taking it. Tito
Villanova's tactical thinking must be that, while he is not 100% fit, he
could have a greater impact coming off the bench later in the game as
he did against Paris St Germain in the previous round.
That's
providing Bayern haven't already battered them into submission by then -
a decision that could prove either genius or humiliating.
01 May,
19:28
Peter Crouch was overjoyed at being the first one in at the Nou Camp.
Mike Hewitt
01 May,
19:26
Rodney Marsh asks the obvious question on Twitter:"Will tonight prove that without Messi, Barca are just a good football team?"
01 May,
19:24
And the Barcelona v Bayern Munich team news is in. Barcelona: Valdes, Dani Alves, Pique, Bartra, Adriano, Xavi Song, Iniesta, Villa, Fabregas, Pedro.
Subs: Pinto, Sanchez Messi, Thiago, Jonathan, Montoya, Tello. Bayern Munich: Neuer, Lahm, Boateng, Van Buyten, Alaba, Javi Martinez, Schweinsteiger, Robben, Muller, Ribery Mandzukic.
Subs: Starke, Dante, Shaqiri, Rafinha, Gustavo Gomez, Tymoschuk.
01 May,
19:22
Tonight's game is likely to be less open than the German's
masterclass in the first leg as Bayern Munich will no doubt attempt to
protect their four goal lead.
However, as we saw during their
nervous home 2-0 defeat by Arsenal in the Last 16, they are not
necessarily at their best when holding back.
The Germans are the
competition's leading scorers this season with 26 goals - Barcelona are
only the fifth highest scorers. Bayern are expected to welcome leading
scorer Mario Mandzukic back at the expense of the more lumbering Mario
Gomez in the knowledge that a single away goal would effectively kill
the game.
With the Bundesliga already sewn up, Bayern were able to
rest several players at the weekend but a greater concern is having SIX
players walking the cautionary tightrope that would see them miss the
final if they are booked tonight - Philipp Lahm, Gustavo, Javi Martinez,
Bastian Schweinsteiger, Dante and Mario Gomez will have to tread
carefully.
Coach Juup Heynckes, who will retire at the end of the
season has promised not to leave any players out tonight...but has
warned his team to maintain their discipline. In the unlikely event that
Jose Mourinho was Barcelona manager, tactics would probably involve
getting those six players cautioned in the hope that regret would stifle
their performance.
01 May,
19:11
As usual, the hopes of a Catalan nation rest on the diminutive shoulders of one Lionel Messi.
The
Argentine phenomenon obviously hadn't recovered from a hamstring injury
that left him conspicuously anonymous in the first leg - reducing
Barcelona to a better version of Southampton without Matt Le Tissier!
However,
another wonder goal to add to his show reel collection against Athletic
Bilbao this weekend suggests that the small man is back in town.
Messi
has scored 44% of Barcelona's goals in the Champions League this season
- and 12 of his 59 total goals in the competition have come against
German opposition.
The Spanish side may be unbeaten in 22
Champions League home games (winning 17 of them and their last 10
against German sides) - but even a victory might not be enough to see
them through on this occasion.
Injuries have also exposed their squad as being thinner than Alan Shearer's hairline, especially in defence.
Hair
raising captain Carles Puyol and his fun-sized sidekick Javier
Masherano will again be missing in central defence, which is likely to
see Marc Bartra partner Gerard Pique for the evening (Shakira is
unlikely to feel jealous). And, Jordi Alba is suspended and likely to be
replaced by the slower Adriano.
However, the biggest loss could
be midfield enforcer Sergio Busquets - especially with Alex Song
expected to get a rare outing from the bench.
01 May,
18:50
Barcelona will have to produce possibly the greatest comeback in
Champions League history if they are to overturn a four-goal deficit
against Bayern Munich at the Nou Camp tonight.
With Borussia Dortmund already on their way to Wembley after eliminating Real Madrid (and possibly Jose Mourinho's chances of staying at the Bernabeu)
last night, this is Spain's final attempt to prove that talk of a
European football power shift currently hurtling towards Germany is
premature.
No team in the competition's history has ever come back
from four goals down, while the newly crowned Bundesliga champions are
in intimidating form - having won 21 of their last 22 games in all
competitions (el gulpo!). Bayern were awesome in the first leg,
playing a stylish, pressing game that beat Barcelona at their own brand
of football. And, since the Catalans have only won once in seven
matches against the Bavarians, only the news that the world's greatest
player (TM) is fully fit again offers any hope.
Pep Guardiola will
no doubt be watching with baited breath as his past collides with his
future - perhaps secretly hoping that Barcelona win if only to give him
something to do next season.
You can follow all the action with analysis, pictures and tweets here...
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