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Bayern Munich crushed Barcelona 3-0 at Camp Nou in their first game of the 2021-22 Champions League season.
A goal from Thomas Muller, coupled with a brace from Robert Lewandowski, condemned the hapless Catalans to their first opening day defeat in the competition in 24 years.
Without Lionel Messi to provide creative inspiration or score in crucial moments, Ronald Koeman's side were simply abject, a pale shadow of their former rip-roaring selves.
The Bavarians found the breakthrough just after the half-hour mark when Muller's effort took a deflection off Eric Garcia.
In-form Lewandowski then doubled their advantage with a tap-in after Jamal Musiala's shot pinged off the upright, before bagging a second in similar fashion as Serge Gnabry hit the post too.
The reigning Bundesliga winners, pretty much like in their 8-2 demolition job last year, outclassed their Spanish rivals from stem to stern. With a little more cutting edge, the scoreline would've been much bigger.
Barcelona, regretfully, have lost their identity as a club.
Here are the player ratings for both sides:
Barcelona
Marc-Andre ter Stegen - 6.5/10
He denied Sane twice in an incredible display of goalkeeping, but Ter Stegen stood no chance with any of Bayern's goals tonight.
Ronald Araujo - 7/10
The young Argentine star came of age with a mature performance tonight, blocking so many shots in the first-half. He also made five clearances on the night.
Gerard Pique - 7.5/10
The Barcelona stalwart tried every trick in the trade tonight in stopping Bayern's in-form attackers, but to no avail. However, it doesn't take away any credit from his heroic display - five clearances, two blocked shots, three attempted tackles, three ground duels won, five long-balls, and 95% passes completed!
Eric Garcia - 6/10
He struggled to contain Lewandowski, catching him with a poor challenge early on before the Pole broke free of him in a wonderful attacking move. Oh, and Muller's effort also deflected off the centre-back.
Sergio Busquets - 6.5/10
The Barcelona skipper struggled to control the midfield as the game essentially flew past him. Koeman put him out of his misery in the 59th minute was taking Busquets off.
Sergi Roberto - 6/10
Another disappointing performance, Roberto was in sixes and sevens all night, struggling to get his act together against Bayern's fast-moving play. He, too, went off with Busquets just before the hour mark.
Jordi Alba - 5/10
Completely off the pace, sloppy in passing and easily dispossessed (23 times to be exact), Alba looked every bit like a spent force tonight. Are his days at the top now numbered?
Frenkie de Jong - 6.5/10
Often the playmaker for Barcelona, De Jong, too, was below his best tonight. His passing was accurate as always but nothing meaningful really came of it.
Pedri - 6.5/10
Euro 2020's best young player was a shadow of his talismanic self which took the competition by storm a few months ago. He sure passed the ball around well and ran his socks off, but his overall impact was minimal.
Luuk de Jong - 5/10
Not the most memorable debut for the Dutchman, who had an ineffectual outing for Barcelona. He made only 23 touches on the ball in 66 minutes of action and failed to muster a single shot.
Memphis Depay - 6/10
In terms of work-ethics at least, Depay was better than his international teammate. But as far as direct threats are concerned, he, too, was subpar. The flair with which he's played so far was totally lacking tonight.
Substitutes
Yusuf Demir - 6/10
The youngster replaced Roberto and could hardly put up a better performance.
Gavi - 6.5/10
His positional sense was good and looked confident.
Philippe Coutinho - 6/10
The estranged Barcelona midfielder had hoped to conjure something against his old club but failed to produce anything of note.
Oscar Mingueza - 6/10
He read the game well and even looked to set up Depay at one point with a lunging ball, but it was dealt with comfortably by Neuer.
Alejandro Balde - 7/10
Fearless, audacious and full of vigor, Balde was a breath of fresh air. Arguably the best Barcelona substitute of the night.
Bayern Munich
Manuel Neuer - 7/10
It may be hard to believe but Neuer didn't have to make a single save in the match. Yes, read that again. With Barcelona utterly wayward, the sweeper-keeper had a rather comfortable evening in goal and distributed the ball excellently.
Benjamin Pavard - 7.5/10
The youngster did a fine job of keeping Depay quiet and defended resolutely, making five clearances. He was a menace going forward too, laying a couple of delicious crosses for his teammates.
Dayot Upamecano - 8/10
The new Bayern Munich man turned in arguably his finest performance in Bavarian colors so far as he dealt with the likes of Depay and De Jong with class, whilst exuding flair when on the ball. Big performance from the lad.
Niklas Sule - 7/10
Sule read the game brilliantly and always positioned himself in the right place to make a tackle.
Alphonso Davies - 6.5/10
Still a few notches below his best, but the Canadian didn't put a foot wrong in the match and created one good chance in the game too.
Joshua Kimmich - 8/10
Bayern's playmaker was central to their big result again, dictating play and creating chances by the dozens. He laid out three key passes, six long balls, and completed 91% of his passes too. Coming up clutch again.
Leon Goretzka - 8/10
Goretzka had Busquets in his pocket all night whilst knitting passes together to keep Bayern in attacking mode. He also made four interceptions in the match.
Jamal Musiala - 7/10
An encouraging outing for the young gun, who ran into pockets of space asking questions of the Barcelona defense whilst threading an incisive throughball or two. He inadvertently created Bayern's second goal as his shot came off the post and Lewandowski was on hand to turn it in.
Thomas Muller - 7.5/10
His love affair with Barcelona continued with a seventh goal against the Catalans in just six games, although it took a wicked deflection off Garcia. Still, the German had a field day against his favorite Champions League opponents.
Leroy Sane - 8/10
He assisted Muller with a simple offload but then saw a good effort denied by his compatriot Ter Stegen in the second-half. Still, a very lively performance from the former Manchester City player.
Robert Lewandowski - 8.5/10
The ruthless Pole continued his hot streak with two more goals on the night, extending his incredible run of scoring in 18 consecutive games! Both of his goals were simple tap-ins, but evinced his poaching skills, as Lewandowski now has 75 goals in the Champions League.
Substitutes
Lucas Hernandez - 6.5/10
He slotted comfortably into the defense and passed the ball around well.
Serge Gnabry - 7/10
A lively cameo from the winger, whose passes were slick, creating some beautiful chances that albeit went begging and saw one of his efforts come off the upright before Lewandowski tapped it home.
Marcel Sabitzer - 6/10
Gnabry threaded him a nice throughball and Sabitzer made a complete mess of it by firing it into the stands from a tight-angle with Lewandowski lurking right behind him.
Kingsley Coman - 6/10
He produced one incredible burst of speed in the 89th minute and clipped the ball across the face of the goal which skimmed the post, evading everyone its way out.
Josip Stanisic - N/A
The youngster was merely subbed to see the game off.
