Bayern had swept Barcelona 4-0 out of the stadium in the first leg in Munich, but expected an unconditional assault by the Spaniards, who were famous for their catch-up pursuits, in the second leg at Camp Nou.
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Barcelona had won the UEFA Champions League in three of the last seven years and led the Spanish league when it came against Bayern. Despite a Lionel Messi who has been playing in outstanding form for months, the Spaniards went down 4-0 in Munich in the first leg. The Munich coached by Jupp Heynckes, who had just brought the championship under wraps, led to the break 2-0, Thomas Müller and Mario Gómez were the goalscorers. After the break, Bayern did not give up and put two more goals through Arjen Robben and again Müller. For Barcelona, this was the biggest defeat since a 4-0 loss to Dynamo Kyiv in November 1997. But there was still hope for the return leg.
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Key player
• Franck Ribery: In a game in which Bayern pushed Barcelona on the defensive from the first minute, the French winger was in his element. Even without a goal, he was one of the most striking players of the evening.
• Arjen Robben: The Dutchman scored in the first and second leg and thus had their share of the highest semi-final success in the history of the UEFA Champions League.
Then what happened
The battered Messi was only on the bench in the second leg, but Barcelona pushed for a quick goal. But Bayern’s counterattack was tough and only with a lot of luck did the hosts take a 0-0 break.
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Shortly after the break, the well-deserved tour of the guests through a typical seal gate. Barcelona let go of all hope and took down its two key players Xavi Hernández and Andrés Iniesta in order to protect them from everyday life in the league. Ribéry with a shot deflected by Piqué and Müller with a head caused Barcelona’s first European Cup defeat in the return leg since 1987.
Reactions
Javi Martínez, Bayern midfielder: “We would never have expected two such results, after all Barcelona have been one of the best teams in the world for years. But today we were definitely the better team.”
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Jupp Heynckes, Bayern coach: “Without Messi, Barcelona is undoubtedly a different team. Nevertheless, I would never have expected us to win 7-0. My team implemented our tactics very well today. Our organization was excellent.”
Gerard Piqué, Barcelona defender: “If your opponent is so much superior to you, you can only congratulate him.”
What else happened that evening
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There were no other European Cup matches on May 1st. The night before, Borussia Dortmund under coach Jürgen Klopp had qualified for the UEFA Champions League final in Wembley despite a 0-2 defeat at Real Madrid.
How it went on
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In the first purely German final of the UEFA Champions League, the Munich team won 2-1, Mario Mandžukić and Robben scored the goals, the Dutchman was then elected man of the game. The Munich team completed their personal triple after having previously won the Bundesliga and the DFB Cup. In 2014 a new era also began for Bayern, including the signing of Dortmund’s Robert Lewandowski.
Barcelona consoled themselves this season with the Spanish championship, the 15 point lead meant a new Spanish record. Coach Tito Vilanova resigned from his job in the summer because he was seriously ill with cancer. He died in April 2014 at the age of 45.
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