Robert Lewandowski at the double as Bayern Munich dominate Barcelona at Camp Nou

Robert Lewandowski’s brace after Thomas Muller’s opener helped Bayern Munich to a comfortable 3-0 victory over Barcelona.

“This will be an interesting game to draw conclusions about where we are,” Barca manager Ronald Koeman said before the game. The outcome was as many expected, Barcelona are far from the team they once were during the Lionel Messi era, and a triumph in the Champions League looks further away than ever.

Bayern were simply levels above the Spanish outfit, as their tactical understanding of the system and pure technical quality shone through, even on a night where they were uncharacteristically wasteful in front of goal and hardly got out of first gear.

Granted, the comparison between the sides has to consider how far into the project both managers are, as well as the resources they’ve had available. Julian Nagelsmann took over in Bavaria off the back of Hansi Flick’s fine work in building a side which were crowned Champions of Europe just over a year ago and had won the previous nine Bundesliga titles.

Whereas Koeman inherited an ageing squad, with many key players coming to the end of their illustrious careers, along with huge financial constraints in the transfer market to replace them. Not to mention the loss of their greatest ever player and top scorer, as a result of the same issues.

Despite failing to register a shot on target during a game in the Champions League for the first time in their history, there was one positive for Barcelona to take from this game. 13 months ago in the same fixture they were outclassed in an 8-2 defeat, but this time it was only three.

It’s statistics such as this one that truly put it into perspective not only where they stand as a club, but how much effort it’s going to take in order to be competing with Europe’s elite again. The standards have fallen drastically in recent times, so much so that this can be considered as an improvement, and a step in the right direction.

Much like in the previous victory at Camp Nou for Bayern there was one player that stood out from the rest and that was Lewandowski.

For large spells in the first half, it felt like the Poland international was on the periphery of the game, as he was tasked with the role of occupying the three Barcelona centre-backs. However, his lack of involvement in the build-up didn’t stop him from looking like he was going to get on the scoresheet, as he threatened in behind on a couple of occasions.

Joshua Kimmich’s deft chipped through ball found Lewandowski just inside the area, where he was met by the two hands of Ronald Araujo in the back, which knocked him off balance. On second inspection, the challenge was rash and could have been deemed a foul, if it wasn’t for the striker’s persistence to stay on his feet.

Although no notable shot came from the opportunity, it provided a warning sign for the hosts. Moments later, Jamal Musiala received the ball in space, allowing him to drive towards goal before attempting to slot Lewandowski through on goal.

Unfortunately, the pass was slightly overhit and forced him towards the touchline, but what came after proved the quality that Bayern’s number nine possesses. His first touch helped keep the ball in play, then his second left the onrushing Jordi Alba on the turf, as he was able to chop the ball back inside to evade the challenge.

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It was executed in one smooth motion and followed by a teasing cross into the box to match, but none of his teammates were on the same wavelength this time. As the game approached half-time, it was Bayern’s other deadly attacker that made the breakthrough, as Thomas Muller’s long-range strike beat Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

Leroy Sane prodded the ball into the path of the German, allowing him to line one up from distance. His effort deflected heavily off Eric Garcia into the back of the net following the youngster’s decision to turn his back on the play. For all their dominance, the match was still in the balance heading into the break, however, Barcelona’s hope was short-lived.

Once again, Lewandowski was at the heart of everything positive coming from the visitors, as this time he almost turned provider for Sane. With Gerard Pique always in close proximity, the 33-year-old utilised the space in front of him, in order to act as Bayern’s springboard while attacking.

One glance over his shoulder prior to receiving the ball meant he had already identified the space, before returning it back into the path of the winger. Sane used his quick feet to create some room for a shot but was unable to supply the finishing touch to beat his fellow compatriot in goal.

In the 56th minute, Bayern doubled their advantage through Lewandowski when he was the first to come alive in the box, following Musiala’s shot coming back off the post. The teenager’s half-volley on the edge of the area looked to have beaten ter Stegen, however as it crashed back off the woodwork, the forward instinctively finished into an empty net to make it 2-0.

Even when the game was out of sight, the away side’s relentless press continued to suffocate Barcelona deeper into their own half, and ultimately led to the final goal of the night. Alphonso Davies and Kingsley Coman harried Yusuf Demir out of possession with the latter proceeding to pick out his fellow substitute, Serge Gnabry, with an accurate through-ball.

Gnabry’s low effort rebounded back off the post, where Bayern’s talisman was first on hand to mop up the second phase again. Lewandowski had the composure to cut back onto his weaker left foot, sitting down Pique in the process, before unleashing his shot into the goal to wrap up a 3-0 victory.

It was another fine performance from the German side in the Champions League during recent years and this campaign they will be hoping to go all the way for the seventh time in their history. If they are to do so and Lewandowski continues his incredible form, is it about time we all considered him as the favourite for the Ballon d’Or?

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