Former Bayern striker Robert Lewandowski will be introduced to the Europa League for the first time in his career in the new year. Barely six months after moving from Munich to the Catalan capital, his new club, the once glorious FC Barcelona, have been relegated to the second tier of continental football for the second year in a row.
On the penultimate day of Group C, Barça also fell short of the goal of winning against feared opponents FC Bayern. On the contrary, the Catalans lost 3-0. With their victory, the Munich team are early winners of the group – ahead of Inter Milan.
The fair was basically read at the Camp Nou before the game between Barça and Bayern had even started. Because when the home team stepped onto the pitch, they already knew they were eliminated. They had witnessed the end with their own eyes: Barça’s coach Xavi Hernández had called the team together in the Camp Nou video room to watch Inter’s duel with Viktoria Pilsen, which was kicked off a good two hours before the start of their own game. They saw what could reasonably have been foreseen: Inter’s 4-0 win against a Czech side who have scored only three goals in the entire competition and have now conceded 20.
How big the disillusionment is among the foot soldiers of Barça could not be read from the number of spectators. Almost 80,000 people had gathered in the stadium – which is at least a sign that the trust in Xavi’s team is reasonably intact. The staunchest supporters shouted his name as the game wound down. Frustration could still be heard.
It broke again and again, in the form of a diatribe directed against the European football union Uefa. “La Uefa es una mafia” sang the Barça fans to the melody of the famous Cuban tune “Guantanamera”. The background: the undoubtedly controversial referee decisions in the games in Munich and Milan. “We didn’t deserve to lose in Munich. And in Milan there was an absolutely incomprehensible game management,” complained sporting director Mateu Alemany before the game on Spanish television. Alone: The game on Wednesday evening revealed another truth. FC Bayern is flying at a different altitude than FC Barcelona. On a much higher one.
The Munich team showed a committed and focused performance at the Camp Nou, they were orderly, sufficiently aggressive and always goal-oriented. Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka dominated the midfield and thus the heart of the game at will, the defense was always present. And that was more than enough to clearly put Barcelona in their place. Bayern coach Julian Nagelsmann’s goal of sending a message to the competition for the most important trophy in European club football can be described as achieved.
At no point in the game does Bayern give up control
Bayern’s first degree already led to the lead. Barça initially made attempts to appear as if they wanted to harm the opponent. But that all came to an end when Serge Gnabry threw a dreamy pass into the back of the Barça defence. Because the days are long gone when right-back Héctor Bellerín was one of the fastest players in Europe, Sadio Mané stood alone in front of Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen – and scored to make it 1-0 (10th).
The second shot was also a hit: This time Gnabry served the center forward Eric-Maxim Choupo-Moting (31st), he shot the ball from six meters through Ter Stegen’s legs. Just before the break, Bayern had a double chance through Mané and Jamal Musiala, but Ter Stegen thwarted it. And Lewandowski? In the first half, he didn’t once shoot at the goal of his former team-mates. In the 41st minute, he almost had the pleasure of being penalized by English referee Anthony Taylor. But the video referee intervened – and thus initiated the withdrawal of the penalty kick.
The dynamic of the game did not change even after the half-time break. There was never a situation where Bayern didn’t control the game. Whether consciously or not, they failed to give the impression of wanting to completely wreck Barcelona.
The victory would have been almost higher. In the 55th minute, Joshua Kimmich flicked the ball to Gnabry, who followed up with a nice flick into the far corner. But: The video referee ruled offside. Then it was 3-0 in added time: Substitute Benjamin Pavard scored from a corner kick. And made the humiliation perfect.
