We will have to be very strong to prevent Bayern Munich from winning the Champions League. The Germans, 8-2 winners, devoured Barcelona on Friday and qualified for the semi-finals.
In this demonstration (the word is weak!), Thomas Müller had the makings of the hero. Author of a double, the one who was often believed less in verve has once again shown that he remains a very high level attacker. Able to play, to play, to create and to score, the man with ten goals in the World Cup is really not finished for football. And even less in this Bayern, which has still not fallen on a competitor at his height since the appointment of Hans-Dieter Flick as coach last November. Barça couldn’t do anything about it.
Barça existed for twenty minutes
The knockout matches are not there to consecrate the wait. This “Final 8”, with meetings where everything is played out in 90 minutes instead of the usual 180, has the merit of leaving few alternatives to the teams: passivity does not pay off.
So neither Barça nor Bayern wanted to be inspired by the last half hour of Atalanta Bergamo (2-1 defeat against PSG) or the tasteless performance of Atletico Madrid (beaten 2-1 by Leipzig ). In this Champions League in an unprecedented format, you have to provoke the opponent, force him to make the mistake, to hope to qualify. And we have to believe that it is the best in this game who has the right to advance to the semi-finals.
In Friday’s game, the Catalans only had an illusion of twenty minutes, not without going. Thanks to David Alaba’s equalizer against his side two minutes after the Bavarian opening goal (Müller’s first goal) on a cross from Jordi Alba.
There was also this duel won by Manuel Neuer ahead of Luis Suarez (9th) or this post found by Leo Messi but that none of his teammates had the lucidity to push to the bottom (10th). Barça existed, he even gave himself up by taking advantage of the spaces left by the Munich defense.
Bayern who can do almost everything
But there was something too limited about the plan. Like the impression that Quique Setien, the unlikely coach of what should be more than a club, had not sought to take on the ambitions that must be those of a team that has amazed so much over the decades.
The contrast with the man who stood on the bench opposite is striking: unknown even a year ago, Flick has completely reversed the Bavarian dynamic. It’s simple: Bayern are complete and almost unplayable.
Friday, it went all over the place. With a high pressing or an ability to accelerate in the last third, the German champion knows how to do a lot. Above all, he can score in all sequences.
When his top scorer Robert Lewandovski must wait until the 82nd to finally find the net, they are Ivan Perisic (21st), Serge Gnabry (27th), Müller (31st), Joshua Kimmich (63rd) or even Philippe Coutinho, loaned precisely by Barça (85th and 89th), who are there to take advantage of the breaches created.
Whether it is Manchester City or Olympique Lyonnais (who face each other on Saturday), his opponent in the semi-final next Wednesday has cause for concern. This applies to the whole of Europe, and in particular PSG and Leipzig.
–
