On the match whistle
Simon Evans Match Report:
German champions Bayern Munich completely humiliated Barcelona with a stunning 8-2 win on Friday that sent twe enter the Champions League semi-finals in an extraordinarily emphatic way.
Thomas Mueller scored twice for a rampant Bayern, which led 4-1 after an astonishing 31 minutes, like Lionel Messi and his teammates were sentenced to a blow that looked like the end of an era for the illustrious Catalan club.
Both teams have been crowned European champions five times. But, as Bayern look for a real chance to add a sixth title next week, Barca are clearly facing major rebuilding and it remains to be seen how many of those involved in this debacle will survive the club.
The score was reminiscent of Germany’s 7-1 victory over Brazil in the 2014 World Cup, a match in which Bayern served as coach Hansi Flick was on the bench as assistant coach of the national team.
It started with Bayern leading in the fourth minute when Mueller picked up an Ivan Perisic cross from the left and played a clever one-two with Robert Lewandowski before drilling home.
But within three minutes Barça returned the shot: Clement Lenglet’s very long ball found Jordi Alba in space and David Alaba’s attempt to tackle his search cross ended up overtaking his own goalkeeper Manuel Neuer. .
Neuer was then forced to pull away quickly from his line to foil a Luis Suarez in goal, but was almost surprised by Messi’s cross-shot from the right. who crossed the area and hit the post.
But just when Barça seemed to have established themselves, the Germans regained the advantage in the 21st minute – Serge Gnabry fed Perisic on the left and the Croatian looked up to see his options before stepping over Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
Bayern then added the third as Barça’s defense reopened with ease. Thiago Alcantara had plenty of room in midfield to find Leon Goretzka whose superb ball picked Gnabry, who had gone behind Lenglet and then made no mistake with the goal.
Flick’s team was in riot and things got worse for Barca when Joshua Kimmich’s low cross was converted at the near post by Mueller – another goal of ruthless simplicity that leads the 4-1 on the counterattack.
The Spaniards were in desperate need of finding a way to shift the momentum after half-time and Suarez, one of the few Barça players to emerge with any credit from the match, provided a path back into the match with a nice shot, at 57 ‘.
Jordi Alba found Suarez on the edge of the area and the Uruguayan passed Jerome Boateng before shooting home.
But Bayern weren’t in the mood to turn down the heat and six minutes after them restored their three-goal lead thanks to outstanding work from their Canadian teenager Alphonso Davies.
The left-back dribbled off the wing, danced past Nelson Semedo to reach the back line and then threw the ball back to full-back Kimmich to go home and make it 5-2.
Somehow Bayern had managed to score five goals without prolific striker Robert Lewandowski, who had scored in his previous seven Champions League games – however, with eight minutes to go, the Pole put him well.
Substitute Philippe Coutinho, on loan to the German club from Barça, flew over a cross from the left that Lewandowski aimed firmly at home at the far post.
To add insult to the already painful wound, Coutinho then scored two more before the end when Barcelona fell apart in an unimaginable way to the splendor of the Bavarians. Bayern, which last won the biggest European prize in 2013, will do so against Manchester City or Olympique Lyonnais, who play Saturday, in the last four.
