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La Liga giants Barcelona traveled to Bayern Munich’s Allianz Arena for their highly anticipated UEFA Champions League gameweek two clash on Tuesday night (September 13). The familiar foes traded blows all night in Germany, but it was the hosts who came out on top, securing a clinical 2-0 victory. Lucas Hernandez drew first blood in the second half before Leroy Sane doubled Bayern’s lead with a confident finish.
Playing in front of a buzzing Allianz Arena, Bayern enjoyed a confident start. In the seventh minute, Sadio Mane fed the ball to Jamal Musiala in a promising position. The German’s first touch, however, was poor and allowed Marcos Alonso to clear the ball.
A couple of minutes later, former Bayern ace Robert Lewandowski dispossessed Marcel Sabitzer inside the Bavarian box. Raphinha carried the move forward, finding Gavi, who played Pedri through on goal. The Spaniard went for goal and drew a good save out of Manuel Neuer.
A minute later, Lewandowski had a great opportunity to put his new employers in front, but the Pole failed to keep his header on target. In the 18th minute, Gavi put Lewandowski one-on-one with his old teammate Neuer. The Poland international uncharacteristically lost his nerve and skied his effort.
Raphinha had two decent chances to put Barcelona ahead in the 21st and 26th minutes, respectively, but missed his mark on both occasions. Just before the half-time whistle, Pedri found Lewandowski unmarked inside the box. The former Borussia Dortmund striker got his shot away but it was effectively blocked by substitute Noussair Mazraoui.
Five minutes into the second half, Hernandez got his head to Joshua Kimmich’s peachy corner kick delivery and guided it into the back of the Barcelona net. Four minutes later, Musiala made amends for his first-half miss by playing Sane through with a gem of a pass. Marc-Andre ter Stegen got a touch on the former Manchester City man’s shot but it was not enough to keep it out.
A pair of goals in four minutes knocked the wind out of Barcelona’s sails, as they failed to regain their foothold in the game. Lewandowski, Pedri, and Torres threatened Bayern’s backline from time to time, but Bayern never looked like surrendering control of the game.
It was a tale of two halves, and in the end, Barca were duly punished for their lackluster finishing. Here are two Blaugrana stars who impressed and three who failed to live up to their potential in Germany on Tuesday:
Underperformed: Raphinha
Barca’s summer recruit Raphinha started on the right against Bayern and squared off against the Bavarian’s effervescent left-back Alphonso Davies. Their battle was intense, with Davies ultimately coming out on top.
Against the German champions, Raphinha lost seven ground duels, and ceded possession 14 times. He also failed in three of his four attempted dribbles and misplaced two of three long balls and a cross.
The former Leeds United man had three decent chances to at least work the Bayern keeper, but all of his efforts flew off target.
Performed: Pedri
Barcelona central midfielder Pedri put on a stunning show at the Allianz Arena on Tuesday. He forced a great save off Neuer in the ninth minute and played Lewandowski through on goal just before half time. Just after the restart, he found Raphinha in a promising area, but the Brazilian ended up missing his mark.
Pedri engaged in a brilliant passage of tiki-taka play with Lewandowski and found himself through on goal in the 63rd minute. With Neuer rushing off his line, he dragged his effort wide and ended up hitting the outside of the left post.
The Spain international played three key passes, accurately delivered seven of his eight long balls, made three interceptions, and attempted two tackles.
Underperformed: Ousmane Dembele
With Raphinha taking the right wing, Ousmane Dembele started on the left flank on Tuesday night. The Frenchman struggled to find his footing down that flank and saw the game pass him by.
The Barcelona winger, who was barely involved in proceedings, neither registered a shot on target nor played a key pass against Bayern. He only succeeded in three of his 10 attempted dribbles, lost 10 of 16 ground duels, and ceded possession a staggering 25 times.
Performed: Gavi
Barcelona youngster Gavi was a livewire on the pitch in Bavaria. He made daunting runs, created chances, attempted an excellent volley (15th minute), and put in a shift off the ball as well.
At the Allianz Arena, the young Barcelona midfielder played four key passes, won two duels, completed a cross, made an interception, and attempted two dribbles. Had his teammates been a tad more clinical, Gavi could have walked away with multiple assists on Tuesday.
Underperformed: Robert Lewandowski
In his Champions League debut for Barcelona last week, Lewandowski scored a hat-trick against Viktoria Plzen, becoming the third-leading goalscorer in the competition’s history in the process. Against his former employers, he was nowhere near as clinical.
The Pole missed a one-on-one opportunity (18th minute), was slow to react when played through on goal by Pedri (43rd minute), and misplaced a great header (10th minute). He was a lot quieter in the second half, only coming close to scoring once in the 66th minute. Under pressure from Dayot Upamecano, he dispatched a tricky shot from a tight angle, which Neuer easily held onto.
In addition to his flurry of misses, the Barcelona striker lost four of seven ground duels, ceded possession 11 times, and committed a foul.
