Photo: Stephen Gormley (Red Eye Photo Agency)
Shakhtar Donetsk defeated Barcelona at “home” 1-0 in their fourth Champions League Group match
While the war continues on in Ukraine, Shakhtar Donetsk have made their home this season in Hamburg in northern Germany. Over 50,000 turned up to watch their match against Barcelona at the Volksparkstadion just outside Hamburg’s city centre. A lot of the crowd came to have a look at Xavi Hernandez’s edition of Barcelona but maybe also with the hope of seeing a European giant killing.
The match started how you would have expected with Barca dominating possession. Shakhtar however were very organised and were hitting Barcelona very hard on the break with their wingers Zubkov and Newerton keeping Alonso and Cancelo on their toes. Even though Barcelona had almost 70% of the ball it was Shakhtar in the first half that looked the more dangerous on the break.
Barcelona were hitting shots from outside the box just going wide and over the bar from Gavi and Lewandowski.
But on the 40th minute the Ukraine side broke down the right hand side and Gocholeishvili whipped in a beautiful cross which Danylo Sikan met with a looping header to beat Barcelona captain and keeper Ter Stegen to make it 1-0 on the night.
It made for a frantic second half. However for all of Barcelona’s possession they just could not get the equaliser. They had many attempts but only managed one on target with over 98 minutes played on the night.
It was an historical result for Shakhtar with the large crowd in the Volksparkstadion really appreciating the effort from the Ukrainian side on the night.
With two big games left for Shakhtar in the Champions League Group stage you would not bet against them making it to the last 16.
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]]>The Champions League gets back underway this week following the international break with several sides in desperate need of victories to spark their European campaign into life.
Group A
Napoli will travel to Amsterdam looking to maintain their perfect start against an Ajax side smarting from their late defeat against Liverpool. The Italians have arguably been the standout side in the competition so far and can take a giant leap towards qualification with a victory in the Dutch capital.
Elsewhere it will be a first ever meeting of Liverpool and Rangers at Anfield with both sides needing wins for different reasons. Liverpool will look to Europe to gain some form after stuttering in the league while Rangers are yet to get off the mark in their return to the top table.
Group B
Club Brugge have arguably been the biggest surprise package in the tournament so far and will look to claim another scalp when they host Atletico Madrid.
The Belgians have made a perfect start and another victory would open a big gap between themselves and third place in the group.
Porto will be aiming to get off the mark after two defeats in their first two games when they host Bayer Leverkusen. The Germans are struggling domestically but did defeat Atletico last time out so they’ll have some belief travelling to Portugal.
Group C
Bayern Munich have once more made an impressive start to a Champions League group stage and will get the action underway on Tuesday when they host Viktoria Plzen in the early kickoff.
The German champions defeated their two biggest group rivals in September and will be expecting to dispatch of their Czech visitors to maintain their lead in the group.
Inter Milan meanwhile will host Barcelona in what is the biggest game of the week.
Both sides came up short when facing Bayern and both defeated Plzen so they’ll view these two upcoming games as the key to deciding who will follow Julien Nagelsmann’s side into the last 16.
Group D
Sporting are another side who have impressed, taking six points in what looked the most open group on paper.
They travel to Marseille on Tuesday who desperately need a win if they are to stand any hope of reaching the next round. The French side have started well in the league but have struggled badly in Europe in recent years and will be desperate to give the home support something to cheer.
Tottenham will visit Eintracht Frankfurt in the other Group D clash looking to bounce back from their weekend defeat to bitter rivals Arsenal and take steps towards qualification. It will be far from easy against the Europa League winners who will also have their sights on the latter stages.
Group E
AC Milan head what has been a very tight and unpredictable Group E and will host Chelsea on Wednesday night with injuries to key players disrupting their preparation.
French pair Mike Maignan and Theo Hernandez will miss the clash against Graham Potter’s men who needs points themselves having stuttered in their opening two games.
Salzburg are unbeaten thus far but have also yet to win but a victory over Dinamo Zagreb at home would put them in good stead heading into the turn in the group. The Croatians will be aiming for another surprise victory having stunned Chelsea last month.
Group F
Holders Real Madrid have made a serene start to their title defence and host Shakhtar on Wednesday looking to maintain their 100% record.
The visitors have also made a good start to the group and look favourites to join their hosts in the next round.
Celtic will travel to Leipzig looking to build on their credible draw against Shakhtar last time out and will need to get something to keep their qualification hopes alive as will the bottom side from East Germany.
Group G
Erling Haaland has been in utterly sensational form this season with 17 goals so far and the visit of FC Copenhagen will offer the Norwegian another chance to add to his tally.
The Danes picked up a draw against Sevilla three weeks ago but will be up against a Manchester City side brimming with confidence after sticking six goals past their local rivals Manchester United.
Sevilla have made a terrible start in La Liga and need to get something at home to Borussia Dortmund to avoid being cut adrift in terms of qualification. Victory for the Germans will see them move five points clear of their hosts with just three games to play.
Group H
Benfica have been another surprise outfit this season, winning nine of ten games in all competitions and two 100% records will go head to head in this group when they host PSG.
The Lisbon side claimed a stunning victory away at Juventus last time out and even a point here at home to the French champions will boost their chances of repeating what they did last year when they knocked Barcelona out in the group stages.
Juventus will be looking to avoid the same fate as the Spaniards and nothing less than three points against Maccabi Haifa in Turin will do, with manager Max Allegri under all sorts of pressure.
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Photo: Stephen Gormley (Red Eye Photo Agency)
Lyon won their eighth Women’s Champions League Final in Turin defeating Barcelona 3-1 in front of a crowd of over 32,000.
If Barcelona’s women’s team had performed like their fans in the stands they would have won the European Cup final 5-0. But football does not work like that. On a hot evening in Turin, Barcelona started the game like the heat had gone to their heads.
After only five minutes, Amandine Henry hit a long range shot from 30 yards that flew into the top corner of the Barcelona net. It was a stunning strike for Henry who had only just returned to the team after being out for 20 months with a bad injury.
The early goal seemed to hit the Barcelona players hard. They could not get into any rhythm at all and gave the ball away too much in the midfield.
After 22 minutes Lyon doubled their lead when a ball came in from the left wing for Ada Hegerberg to produce a diving header from six yards out at the far post.
The crowd could not believe it and things were going to get worse for the Barcelona fans that far outnumbered the Lyon fans in the stadium.
Just ten minutes later Henry became the provider for the third goal for Lyon that was a defensive mess from start to finish for Barcelona. The Norwegian striker set up Catarine Macorio from close range to make it 3-0 to Lyon and Barcelona looked like a team that were going to implode.
Barcelona 2021 Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas pulled one back just before half time with a side foot volley to give them hope in the second half.
Barca came out and threw the kitchen sink at Lyon at the start of the second half. There was even an effort from just past the halfway line from Patricia Guijarro that had the Lyon keeper beaten but it hit the crossbar and came out. If that had of gone in, the roof would have come off the famous Juve stadium in Turin.
But Lyon showed why they are the most decorated women’s team at the European elite level in the game. They are the Queens of the dark arts of football. They tried to put Barcelona out of their stride, wasting time and slowing the game down whenever they could. In the end they hung on to win an eighth European title, breaking Barcelona hearts on the pitch and those of over 30,000 Barcelona fans in the stands.
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Robert Lewandowski has expressed his desire to leave Bayern Munich after eight seasons at the club.
The 10-time Bundesliga champion, whose contract expires in June 2023, is seeking a new challenge in his career. He spent two years at Lech Poznan in the Polish league before joining Borussia Dortmund, and eventually Bayern.
Here are four teams who should look be looking to acquire Lewandowski this summer.
Barcelona
The Spanish side have been heavily linked with Lewandowski, with the Polish international reportedly favouring a move to Barcelona.
Xavi’s side currently have four strikers on their roster after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang joined Memphis Depay, Luuk de Jong, and Ferran Torres in January.
Aubameyang has scored 11 league goals in 15 appearances since joining, including a brace in his first-ever El Classico. Memphis is Barcelona’s top scorer in the league so far with 12 goals while de Jong is very much a ‘kitchen sink’ option for Xavi.
Torres has shown promising signs since joining from Manchester City, but the 22-year-old has found himself guilty of missing big chances in various games.
It is likely that Barcelona would need to offload at least one of these forwards to make room for Lewandowski in terms of squad size and game time.
AC Milan
The Rossoneri are currently battling for their first Serie A title since 2011 as they sit two points clear at the top of the table.
Stefano Pioli has used Olivier Giroud (9) most often this season in the striker position along with Zlatan Ibrahimovic (8) off the bench, but it is Rafael Leao (10) who has scored the most goals in the league for them this season.
Milan’s defence have conceded the lowest number of goals along with Inter and Napoli but both their rivals have scored more, with Inter outscoring them by ten.
The seven-time Champions League winners have also struggled to score as frequently at home. They’ve scored 26 goals at home compared to 38 away in the same number of games (18). Although Lewandowski has scored more away from this season (18 in 16), he has still scored an impressive 16 in 17 at home.
Chelsea
The Blues have made many marquee signings over the past two seasons in the striker position with Romelu Lukaku, Timo Werner, and Kai Havertz all coming in, but Thomas Tuchel’s side still lacks a clinical nature in the final third.
Mason Mount (11) has outscored all the Chelsea strikers in the league this season with Lukaku, Havertz, and Werner scoring eight, seven and four respectively.
Lukaku has been under fire from pundits and fans this season after an interview earlier in the season aired on Sky Italia. Many questioned the Belgian’s commitment to the club despite backing from his manager.
Lewandowski has only played twice against Chelsea in his career as he faced the London side in the last 16 of the 2019/20 Champions League. In those two games, he scored three goals and got five assists on his way to lifting the trophy in Lisbon.
Arsenal
If Lewandowski wants to have a challenge, Arsenal is the place for him. The Gunners would need to secure Champions League qualification to have any chance of signing the former Best FIFA Men’s Player, but if they can manage to finish in the top four a move would not be out of the question.
Mikel Arteta has progressed his side over the past 12 months as they go from battling for Europa Conference League last season to pushing for Champions League this season. New signings such as Ben White and Aaron Ramsdale along with Thomas Partey and Martin Odegaard have given Arsenal a new identity under the Spaniard.
Arsenal are the only team in the top seven to underperform their expected goals tally. Aubameyang struggled to fire in the first part of the season and Alexandre Lacazette was finding more assists than shots on goal.
Eddie Nketiah has been scoring in recent games, along with a good record in the Carabao Cup, but has struggled to find consistent form over the course of the season.
Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe have been Arsenal’s top scorers this season, but they have also been good creatively. With the addition of Odegaard, Lewandowski can feed off the youngsters’ build-up play while bringing his world-class talent.
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]]>Ajax are close to securing their 36th Eredivisie title as they are four points ahead of PSV with just three games left in the campaign.
Manager Erik ten Hag has already been announced as the next man in charge at Manchester United, and it seems many players could follow him out of the club this summer. Here are a few of the Ajax players who could leave in the next window.
Ryan Gravenberch
Gravenberch has attracted interest after impressive displays for both club and country over the past two years. The 19-year-old’s current contract expires at the end of the 2022/23 season, and it is likely that the club will sell him this summer after he revealed that he will not sign a new contract.
The midfielder has been linked with a move to the Premier League, with Manchester United and Liverpool both showing interest. Still, reports have stated that Gravenberch favours a move to Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich.
Bayern have reportedly already placed a bid worth £12.6 million, but Ajax rejected it as they want a minimum of £21 million.
The Dutch international has made 30 league appearances, scoring twice and assisting his teammates five times. He has won the league title twice with Ajax and won two Dutch league cups. He was also part of the Dutch under-17 side that won the U17 European Championship in 2018.
Noussair Mazraoui
With the 24-year-old’s contract set to expire this summer, Mazraoui has been on the radar of many teams across Europe.
Bayern are once again favourites to sign to right-back on a free transfer, but he has also been linked with Arsenal, Manchester United, and Barcelona, who signed their current full-back Sergino Dest from the same club.
Bayern have either played Benjamin Pavard at right-back or opted to play with three central defenders to accommodate their right-hand side. Julian Nagelsmann wants the deal to be secured sooner rather than later as Mazraoui is yet to choose his preferred suitor.
The Morrocan international has played in 23 league games this season and played in all of Ajax’s Champions League fixtures. He has nine combined goals and assists this season and has also shown he can play in central midfield.
It seems like Antony could be Ajax’s big cash cow for the summer as the Brazilian winger continues to excite fans with his silky performances on the pitch.
Barcelona, Liverpool, Bayern, and Manchester United have been battling for Antony’s signature, with Juventus rumoured to have joined the potential bidding war in recent days.
The 22-year-old has scored 12 times and racked up eight assists in all competitions this season. His impressive performances in the Champions League helped Ajax win all their six group games, with big wins over Sporting Lisbon and Borussia Dortmund.
He has been integrated into the Brazil squad after manager Tite admired his club performances. Antony played in nine of Brazil’s World Cup qualifiers, starting in the final two, and scoring twice. He was also part of the Olympic team that won gold in Tokyo last summer.
Despite openly wanting a move away from the club in January, Tagliafico has played an important role in Ajax’s domestic campaign this season.
The Argentine had his heart set on a move to Barcelona to join Xavi’s revival at the club, but the move could not be completed before the deadline. He expressed his disappointment in his current side for not doing more to get the transfer completed, and he will likely once more seek a move away in the summer.
It is unclear whether Barcelona are still interested in the left-back, but Chelsea and Atletico Madrid have been linked with a move for the 29-year-old.
Tagliafico played five times in Argentina’s recent Copa America success but only made nine appearances in the World Cup qualifiers due to various injuries.
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]]>After Champions League delight at Camp Nou, can anyone topple this Barcelona women’s side?
In a landmark match for women’s football, a world record number of 91,553 spectators witnessed more El Clásico triumph for Barcelona, as they registered their 37th consecutive victory in all competitions with a 5-2 victory over Real Madrid (8-3 on aggregate), as the defending champions progressed to the semi-final of the Champions League.
Jonatan Giráldez’s side are the firm favourites to land the quadruple this season, and have all but sealed the Primera Division title, with his side 19 points clear at the top from Real Sociedad. They have won all 25 of their league matches so far this campaign, scoring a remarkable 138 goals and conceding only seven in the process.
Their biggest victories have seen them despatch Sevilla 10-1 in November and a 9-1 thumping over their nearest challengers Real Sociedad back in February. Out of their 37 games this campaign, they have won by four or more goals in 20 of them.
They already secured the Supercopa de España Femenina in late January, crushing opponents Atletico Madrid 7-0 and are in to the semi-final of the Copa de la Reina following a comprehensive 3-0 victory over Sociedad again just over a fortnight ago.
The most impressive aspect of this team is how goals are spread throughout the side, with Asisat Oshoala, Alexia Putellas, Lieke Martens, Jenni Hermoso and Claudia Pina all onto double figures this season.
Their statistics in the Champions League will strike fear in to the eyes of any opponent too, having scored 32 goals and only conceding 4 as well as boasting an average of 67% possession and covering a distance of 218.76km.
La Blaugrana seem to be unstoppable right now and they have been considerably better in every single department no matter who they have faced.
Their continued rise is becoming more and more noticed, particularly after Wednesday night’s performance and they seemingly look the side to dominate the women’s game for years to come.
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]]>Adama Traore’s second debut for Barcelona was one to remember as the Blaugrana beat Atletico Madrid 4-2 at the Camp Nou.
Goals from Gavi, Ronald Araujo, Dani Alves and a sensational volley from Jordi Alba helped Xavi’s side leapfrog Atletico into fourth in the La Liga table.
In his first game for Barcelona since sealing his loan move at the end of January, Traore made an instant impact as he was involved in the first two goals. Some fans questioned the transfer, wondering if the Spanish international would be able to fit Xavi’s tiki-taka, high pressing system, but he put those doubts to bed very early on with his goal involvements.
After the visitors went 1-0 up through Yannick Carrasco, Traore, along with the help of Pedri, pressed high against the Atletico defence and it eventually led to Alves picking out Alba, who volleyed his effort past Jan Oblak in what is a clear Goal of the Season contender. The Atletico players appealed for a foul on Koke by Traore but the equaliser stood.
Barcelona then took the lead when Gavi headed home Traore’s cross, his first assist of the season. His pace and ball control proved to be too much for Mario Hermoso to handle as a quick drop of the shoulder and burst of pace gave Traore the space to pick out Gavi at the far post, who scored his second goal of the season.
The 26-year-old winger was brilliant before being substituted for fellow new signing, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. He completed 82.6% of his passes, won five duels and also won two free-kicks. He walked off to a standing ovation from the home crowd in what was a dream return for him.
It was also an eventful return to the Camp Nou for Alves in what was the Brazilian’s first game in the stadium since returning to the club. The 38-year-old followed up his assist in the first half with a goal early in the second. Alba’s half-cleared cross was slotted home perfectly by Alves, who went over to celebrate with his manager before facing the Blaugrana fans and embracing the atmosphere.
It was a positive game for Uruguayan fans as Ronald Araujo scored his third goal of the season and Luis Suarez secured a goal and assist as he returned to the Camp Nou as a league champion with Atletico.
Only Real Madrid have picked up more points than Barcelona in the last 10 league games and Xavi’s side are two points behind Real Betis with one game in hand. They travel to Espanyol for their next league fixture before facing Napoli in the Europa League.
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]]>Xavi returns to Barcelona as manager after the club announced he will replace Ronald Koeman at the helm.
He is under contract at Camp Nou until June 2024 and is set to manage his first game for the club after the international break.
This was the third time the Barcelona board had tried to convince Xavi to manage the club, and it was third time lucky. The ex-Barcelona midfielder previously claimed he was not ready to take the job and only accepted it once his previous club Al Sadd were happy enough with the deal.
A five-million release clause was paid to get Xavi back home, something his former teammate Andres Iniesta predicted at his farewell.
“Those of us who know you know you’ll be back.”
Xavi spent two and a half years managing Al Sadd and did a very respectable job at the Qatari side.
He won a total of seven trophies during his time at the club, including a domestic treble in the 2020/21 season. Al Sadd won the Qatar Stars League for the 15th time alongside winning the Qatar Cup and the Emir of Qatar Cup.
The Spaniard took his team to the semi-finals of the AFC Champions League in 2019, where they lost 6-5 on aggregate to eventual champions Al-Hilal. He could only reach the round of 16 the following year after a shock defeat to Iranian side Persepolis, who finished as runners-up that year.
He leaves Al Sadd who are currently unbeaten in their last 36 league games. Former Arsenal, Villarreal and Spain midfielder Santi Cazorla explained Xavi’s preferred style of football.
“His ideas are very clear, always have been. He wants the ball for us, and the opponents not to even touch it.”
This is very similar to the footballing philosophies of previous Barcelona managers Pep Guardiola and Johan Cruyff, two of the most successful coaches in the club’s history.
Although it was a predictable move that Xavi would return to the club in this role, his style of play and resemblance to Barca’s glory days make it feel like destiny that he has the opportunity to take the club back to the top from where they currently are.
Xavi’s first game in charge of Barcelona will be against Espanyol in the league before facing Benfica in the Champions League three days later.
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]]>Memphis Depay quietly went about his business this weekend as Barcelona cruised past Valencia with a 3-1 victory.
Ansu Fati’s performance took the headlines but it couldn’t have been done without the help of Depay.
Despite Valencia taking an early lead from Jose Gaya’s smashing effort, Ronald Koeman’s side did not let their heads drop and they soon found their equaliser.
Fati cut in from the left-hand side and played a ball into Depay on the edge of the box. The Dutchman returned the ball first-time with a perfectly weighted pass and the youngster finished the chance venomously into the far corner.
This was Depay’s second assist of the season and Barcelona began to look stronger as the game went on.
He then got a well-deserved opportunity to find the scoresheet as Fati won a penalty in the 39th minute.
Jasper Cillessen was left flat-footed as Depay thundered the ball into the corner of the net after a short run-up.
The forward now has four league goals this season, being directly involved in six of Barcelona’s 14 goals.
Depay also had a good game apart from his two goal contributions. He had more touches on the ball than any other attacker on the pitch (62) and had a pass completion of 81.6%.
The former Manchester United man also made two key passes, completed 100% of his long balls, won seven of his 11 ground duels, and succeeded in 75% of his attempted dribbles.
The 27-year-old has been one of the better players for Barcelona this season in what has been a very difficult period for fans both on and off the pitch. Even with the rise of youngsters like Fati, Pedri and Gavi, it is clear Depay will be an important player for Barcelona over the coming seasons.
Coutinho scored the third goal to put the game to bed as Barcelona move up seventh in the table, five points behind leaders Real Sociedad.
The next league game for Depay and his teammates will be a huge fixture against Real Madrid as bragging rights are up for grabs in El Classico.
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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.
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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