Frustrated, Robert Lewandowski trudged across the grass of the Allianz Arena before congratulating his former teammates fairly.
Lucas Hernández put the German record champions in front in an intense game following a corner by Joshua Kimmich (50′). Only four minutes later, Leroy Sané made the final score (54th) after a great combination with Jamal Musiala.
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Although Lewandowski had a number of chances, he was unable to prevent Barça’s seventh defeat in the past eight duels with Bayern.
Three things that stood out in the Champions League match between Bayern Munich and Barça.
1.) Lucki beats Lewy
Lewandowski seemed more annoyed by the minute. Who knows what the game would have been like on Tuesday evening if the 34-year-old hadn’t lost his nerve after a little more than fifteen minutes and then failed because of the brilliantly reacting Manuel Neuer (17′).
“The machine is human”, was the conclusion of Mario Gomez, former Lewandowski predecessor at FC Bayern, on “Amazon Prime Video” during the half-time break.
Ironically, on his return to his old homeland, the Pole was extremely unlucky and remained goalless for the first time since his debut for FC Barcelona almost a month ago to the day.
“I think it was an emotional game for Lewy, which is why he has big plans. If the knot bursts at the beginning, it can be very different here, but luck just wasn’t on his side in the decisive situations and that was in that case, our luck,” summarized Neuer on “Amazon Prime Video”.
Robert Lewandowski (l./FC Barcelona) fails with a header to Manuel Neuer (FC Bayern)
Fotocredit: Getty Images
In fact, in the first half, Lewandowski had the lead for the Catalans on his feet several times. Over the entire season, the attacker recorded the most goals (seven), but it didn’t turn out to be a goal, which was not least due to the strong Bavarian defense duo Dayot Upamecano and Hernández.
The latter – bajuwarisch Lucki christened by his colleagues – was the one who put FC Bayern in front on the other side of the field after a pinpoint corner from Joshua Kimmich (50th) and finally stole the show from his former teammate Lewy.
On the other hand, neighbor Upamecano, who threw himself into almost everything, shone with an outstanding rate of tackles (71.4 percent) and thus justified the confidence of coach Julian Nagelsmann, who gave the Frenchman preference over new signing Matthijs de Ligt.
The only drop of bitterness from a Bavarian point of view that evening was Hernández’s thigh injury shortly before the final whistle, when the 26-year-old left the pitch in pain. Later, Upamecano also hobbled through the mixed zone after taking a hit. An exact diagnosis is yet to come.
2.) Four minutes Bayern is enough
In contrast to last season, when FC Bayern partially demonstrated the Catalans in the 3-0 win in their own living room, the Munich team couldn’t complain on Tuesday that the half-time break was only a goalless draw.
In the first 45 minutes, FC Barcelona not only had more possession (50.9 percent), but also more than twice as many shots as the home side (ten). For a long time it looked as if the Spanish flagship club could take something countable against the “Bestia Negra”, the feared opponents, for the first time in more than six years – until the start of brilliant Bayern minutes from minute 50.
Substitute Leon Goretzka started the game, forcing Barça keeper Marc André ter Stegen to do a brilliant job. The subsequent corner from Kimmich nodded Hernández to the lead (50th). “Sometimes you need a corner goal, after that the momentum was on our side,” Musiala summed it up.
Lucas Hernández (right) and Dayot Upamecano cheer – FC Bayern Munich vs. FC Barcelona
Photo credit: Image
Just four minutes later, the Munich team converted that momentum into a second goal by Sané (54th). “The two goals within a very short time pulled the tooth out of Barça,” said former international Benedikt Höwedes on “Amazon Prime Video”.
In general, the German record champions presented themselves better in the duels in the second half and more determined in the game going forward. “In the second half we did it a bit better and more concentrated and started out more aggressively. We had confidence in our defensive stance, stood a little lower and then switched well,” explained Goretzka.
Captain Neuer agreed with his team-mate: “I think we just wanted those three points more than Barcelona.”
3.) Sané pulls himself out
Matthias Sammer had a certain premonition. “Sané has over the (left; Anm. d. Red.) Marcos Alonso’s side, in my opinion, some possibilities”, predicted Borussia Dortmund’s external advisor during the half-time break on the microphone of “Amazon Prime Video” – and he was right.
Unlike in the first round, when the German national player already had a lot of space on the right wing, but frivolously frittered away a few balls in a promising position, he showed himself to be much more energetic in the second 45 minutes.
The reward for his improved performance was the remarkable goal to make it 2-0 after a great combination with the equally outstanding Jamal Musiala (54th). “It’s always up and down with him and now he just has a phase in which things are going well and he scores goals,” said TV expert Josephine Henning.
However, the winger once again caused a stir off the pitch when, after being substituted in the 80th minute (for Mathys Tel), he fired his drinking bottle onto the ground before briefly disappearing into the catacombs of the Allianz Arena, only to to take a seat on the Bayern-Bank again a short time later.
“I wasn’t angry about my substitution. I was disappointed with my performance. I’d rather not score a goal and play well for it,” Sané said afterwards, quite self-critically. Objectively speaking, however, there was hardly any reason for disappointment for the DFB star in the second half.
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