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Soccer Field

Bayern Munich Once Again Exposed Barcelona’s Ineffective Playing



Barca's performance last night at Camp Nou was pitiful. Once again, their fruitless tiqui-taca passing game showed that possession is a mirage that only leaves the fans disappointed. Xavi's men entered the pitch with elimination already on their scorecard, given Inter Milan's 4 - 0 victory over the modest Viktoria Plzeň of the Czech Republic.


Barcelona's Pre-Match Jitters


Xavi and his players met at Camp Nou earlier in the day to watch the game that would eventually sentence their elimination. Only two unlikely events could change that looming reality - Viktoria needed to defeat Inter AND Xavi’s boys had to overcome a 0-5 game deficit against Bayern Munich.


We were talking about miracles here. And for miracles to happen, people first need to believe.

From the first few minutes, Nagelsman's men made it clear they meant business. In a furious counterattack, Sadio Mane grabbed the ball at the midfield line. Hector Bellerin tried to stop him, but the Senegal international fended him off and chipped the ball past Ter Stegen. The Bavarians were 1-0 after only ten minutes.


Bayern Is a Well-Oiled Machine


What happened in the 30th minute illustrates Barcelona’s night and their current Champions League campaign. Barca led a seven-man charge into Bayern territory. Only defenders Alonso, Balde, and Koundé were keto back around the midfield line to contain Mane and Moting. Midfielder Musiala won the ball back for Bayern, got passed Alonso, and found a clear path forward. With one fewer Barcelona defender, Musiala passed the ball to Gnabry, who linked up with Moting and Mane in a dizzying trident. The Bayern men were 3-2 up against Balde and Koundé, who tried to retreat but could not contain Gnabry and his excellent pass to Moting. The Cameroonian easily beat Ter Stegen with a low shot. Bayern Munich 2-0.


The VAR cleared up an alleged penalty by Matthijs de Ligt against Robert Lewandowski in the 43rd minute. After a quick review, English referee Anthony Taylor ruled that the Dutch defender reached the ball before Lewandowski. The referee's decision was received with boos from the stands. Barcelona hit the half-time down two goals and struck with one disheartening referee call.


In the 55th minute, Gnabry received an excellent long pass from Kimmich, lowered and controlled with his right foot, got passed Balde, and placed a superb left-foot curler just inside Ter Stegen's far post. In one of those head-scratching calls, referee Taylor ruled that Gnabry was in an off-side position when he received the ball from Kimmich. The VAR image left us all with more questions than answers.


The Barca Bench Did Not Offer Answers


The clock was ticking, and things looked grim for the home side. Barcelona was not only losing by two goals but also failed to generate offensive plays - they could not break into Bayern's box and had zero shots on target. Xavi finally decided to adjust his pieces in the 58th minute and sent on Ferrán Torres for Sergio Busquets, putting an extra man in attack. Pedri was replaced by Rafinha. Soon after, Eric García and Ansu Fati came on for Koundé and Dembelé, respectively. It was not until the 67th minute that Barcelona created a good chance. Ansu Fati managed to break through the German defense, got passed two defenders, and fired a shot 5 yards wide of Ulreich's near post.


The substitutions yielded few results, and Bayern continued to comfortably control the game. They even had good scoring chances through Gnabry and Mane. The latter play resulted in a corner kick from Kimmich. The German midfielder served long for Gnabry, whose imperfect volley found Pavard free to beat Ter Stegen in the 93rd minute.


A Disappointing Season


The look on Xavi's and the Cules' faces said it all after the 0-3. In summary, Barcelona had 9 attempts at Bayern's goal, but none of them were on target. Keeper Ulreich was a mere spectator, and yet, Barcelona had 58% ball possession.


At the beginning of the season, Barcelona had big, A-list signings - Lewandowski, Rafinha, and Koundé. And yet they will have to settle for the second-tier Europa League once again.

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