Barcelona 0-3 Bayern Munich: End of an era sets up an all-German Champions League Final
Barcelona 0-3 Bayern Munich: End of an era sets up an all-German Champions League Final
A Barca team sans Messi was exposed as ordinary for the second time by the all conquering Germans
'We're on our way to Wembley!'
Getty
Brilliant Bayern Munich completed a stunning semi-final mauling of Barcelona to set up a Wembley final against Bundesliga rivals Borussia Dortmund.
Leading
4-0 from the first leg, Bayern were similarly clinical at the Nou Camp
with second-half goals from Arjen Robben, Gerard Pique – who put through
his own net – and Thomas Muller sealing a one-sided win over a sorry
Barca side for whom Lionel Messi (below) was an unused substitute.
The victory – the biggest semi-final aggregate win in Champions League history – sees Bayern in their third final in four years.
They
will hope to improve on runner-up finishes against Inter Milan in 2010
and Chelsea last year in the competition’s first all-German final on
May 25. Bench mark: Messi of Barcelona takes his seat on the substitutes bench
David Ramos
Robben and Philipp Lahm both went close for Bayern early on but Pique produced brilliant tackles to deny both players.
Barca’s
first serious threat on goal came in the 24th minute when Pedro
Rodriguez saw his 30-yard drive tipped over by Manuel Neuer as it
arrowed towards the top corner.
The Bundesliga champions took the lead three minutes after the restart. Wembley bound: Munich players celebrate reaching the final following their team's 3-0 victory on the night and 7-0 on aggregate
Getty
Robben picked up a long cross-field pass from David Alaba
before racing into the area where he cut inside Adriano and curled past
Victor Valdes.
They doubled their lead 18 minutes from time.
Franck Ribery got in behind Dani Alves down the left and his cross was
sliced into his own net by Pique.
Bayern’s third came in the 76th
minute when Ribery burst past Alex Song before dinking a cross to the
far post where Muller headed home.
The result left Pique reeling.
He said: “This is one of our worst nights. The truth is that it isn’t
pleasant living through a situation like this.
“In the first half
we really tried but when they scored the first we were left feeling
down. We have to congratulate Bayern who were superior.” Bayern coach Jupp Heynckes said: “We
played an outstanding game but there is a difference of Barca with and
without Messi. But it is a result one could not have forecast.
“I
know the philsophy of Barcelona and my team understood extremely well
how to deploy our tactics. It was harder than it looked. We were very
focused... we knew what we were up against.”
Barcelona midfielder Xavi lauded Bayern as “extraordinary” and believes they thoroughly deserved their place in the final.
“Right
now Bayern are at an extraordinary level,” said the midfielder. “They
have been better and very much deserve to be in the final.”
It was the first time Barca had lost both legs of a European knockout tie since 1987 – against Dundee United.
Now read our La Liga expert David Cartlidge's view on where it all went wrong for the team formerly known as the best in the world.
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