Robert Lewandowski walks in front of Bayern Munich in Barcelona | Champions League

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“This is going to be a fun game of drawing conclusions about where we are,” Ronald Koeman said. The answer, they thought, was very far from looking to win the Champions League. Thirteen months later, Barcelona was defeated by Bayern Munich again.

It wasn’t the eighth, not this time, but it wasn’t great. Two goals from Robert Lewandowski and one from Thomas Muller completed the 3-0 win which was more about the visitors’ overwhelming superiority than numbers.

Bayern eventually pulled off this victory, playing the final minutes of the crowd ironically when a ball was thrown around the stands instead of being passed around the field. The shots on goal were not there. If Bayern had “only” seven, 16 in total, it was because they didn’t need more. Only very briefly was Barcelona in this match.

“They are better than us, and we won’t hide that,” Gerard Pique said afterwards. “There is a difference between us now. It is what it is; we are who we are here now. Frankly, we are not among the candidates.”

On the other hand, Bayern Munich have variety and assertiveness here which has enabled them to relax at times, giving them the opportunity at their own time. Pique insisted that Barcelona would “end up competing”, but they couldn’t.

Marc-Andre ter Stegen suffered a defeat from the deviation from Eric Garcia as Thomas Muller put Bayern in front. Photo: Lluís Gené/AFP/Getty Images

There wasn’t much optimism before, and Lisbon hangs in the balance, and it’s proven. However, at the start of what proved to be a long evening, the Camp Nou was raucous and momentarily excited, Sergi Roberto turned around and fired his first real shot over the bar. But those early signs were short-lived, and Bayern settled in and was quickly installed within half of Barcelona, ​​around their area and often within it.

Although there were a few clear chances, she felt it was more down to Bayern’s willingness to wait and not force them, than Barcelona’s ability to keep them at arm’s length. Leroy Sane was fast on the left, Jamal Musyala came in nimbly from the right, and Leon Goretzka stepped through a growing space in the middle. The house nerves grew and they became preoccupied only with self-preservation. Right-backs, Pique, Ronald Araujo and Eric Garcia had to block the ball while Ter Stegen had a shot from Sane.

When the opening goal came, the finish was lucky but the move was not: 16 passes were completed, the last of which was quickly exchanged between Alfonso Davies, Sane and Goretzka to leave Pique, Araujo and Serge Roberto withdrew from the center and Muller. on the edge of the box. Garcia turned his back and the bullet took him.

The second half brought more. An impressive double match between Sane and Lewandowski resulted in the ex-Manchester City striker making a superb save from Ter Stegen. Barcelona’s strikers were an island too far away, and Luc de Jong quickly turned back to help the nine players cling to within a meter of their area, arriving just in time to watch the second goal from close range. . This time, Musiala hit the post and channeled Lewandowski into the rebound.

The whistles followed, especially when Sergi Roberto was pulled over. Luc de Jong, Busquets and Garcia left early as well, realizing that the game was already gone. From the point of view of the fans, the demands of men – children – were simple: rebel against our destiny.

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Javi, 17, and Yusef Demir, 18, were greeted warmly. Philippe Coutinho, who was on the other side for the night 8-2, received applause for a shot that stopped him. They were joined by Alejandro Balde, another teenager. There was a short spark, but Bayern reasserted themselves, hitting the post again before Lewandowski left Pique on the ground for a third late.

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