Bayern Munich survived a poor first half performance to qualify for the quarterfinals of this season’s Champions League, as goals from Thomas Muller, Robert Lewandowski, Thiago Alcantara and Kingsley Coman completed a memorable comeback for the Bavarians at the expense of last year’s finalists Juventus.
Juventus stunned the Allianz Arena early on, as goals from Paul Pogba and Juan Cuadrado gave Juventus a two-goal cushion at half-time. The second half saw Robert Lewandowski meet a Douglas Costa cross at the far post to give Bayern hope.
Juventus thought they had held out, only for Thomas Muller to react fastest to Juventus loanee Kingsley Coman’s cross in injury time to take the tie into a further 30 minutes.
Juventus’ heartbreak at conceding the second goal was evident, as Bayern took full advantage of the widening fissures in a usually solid defence to strike twice through Thiago Alcantara and Coman – sealing the Munich outfit’s place in Friday’s quarterfinal draw through a 6-4 aggregate win.
We look at the part each player played in what turned out to be a riveting encounter:-
Bayern Munich
Manuel Neuer – 7
An uncharacteristically poor first half hour performance from the German brick wall. He failed to do his sweeper-keeper duties when he could only smother a Stephan Lichtsteiner shot from Sami Khedira’s pass in the build up to Juventus’ first goal. He was then saved by the offside flag when a clearance ricocheted straight off a Juventus player to Alvaro Morata – who looked onside.
Despite an average display in the first 30 minutes, Neuer made amends in the remaining 90 by making a number of important saves – including a brilliant one to tip a Cuadrado effort onto the woodwork.
Phillip Lahm – 7.5
Lahm was constantly involved with Douglas Costa on the right wing as they attempted to break down a well-organised Juventus defence. Completed nearly all his passes to ensure that Bayern didn’t lose possession from that area of the field.
He kept Alex Sandro relatively quiet in the second half, not allowing him to make those inroads into the byeline to feed a cross across the penalty box.
Joshua Kimmich – 6.5
It was a difficult night for the young centre-back. He was absolutely blown away by Juventus’ intensity and urgency on the ball. He was one out of four victims dribbled past by a brilliant Alvaro Morata counter attack for Juventus’ second goal.
Bayern’s second half dominance and Juventus’s relatively intriguing decision to replace an influential Sami Khedira with Stefano Sturaro helped him stay largely untroubled in the second half.
Mehdi Benatia – 6
The Moroccan struggled with Juventus’ high pressing game in the first half, forcing him to panic and make defensive errors as far as mistimed clearances and safety passage passing was concerned. He failed to come across Cuadrado’s shot which resulted in Juventus’ second goal. He was replaced by Juan Bernat at half-time.
David Alaba – 6.5
The 23-year-old was all over the place in the first half. His mix-up with Manuel Neuer led to Juventus’ first goal and he was too slow in getting the ball out of his feet going forward. It was all too easy for Stephan Lichtsteiner to deal with.
The second half saw him shifted to centre-back to accommodate Juan Bernat at left-back. That tweak left Alaba as a supplier from the back, as Juventus stopped creating chances and decided to sit deep in their own half to protect their lead.
Xabi Alonso – 6
The Spaniard, who is so well known to open up opposition defences with that pinpoint pass, lacked the cutting edge against a Juventus defence who ensured all gaps were covered in the middle of the park. He had to restrain himself to sideways passing instead.
The veteran midfielder was subbed off on the hour mark for Kingsley Coman to provide more width to a desperate Bayern attack.
Arturo Vidal – 7.5
The Chilean missed a glorious opportunity very early in the game when a Douglas Costa through pass dissected the Juventus defence and sent him clear, but he managed to fluff his shot. Following that, he turned supplier from an advanced position – locating the runs of Lewandowski and Muller behind the Juventus back four.
He played his role defensively too, making a number of accurate tackles and timely interceptions in the second half to ensure that Bayern assumed firm control of proceedings in the second half and in extra-time.
Franck Ribery – 7
The French winger was kept in check by Lichtsteiner early on, but as the game wore on he put his foot on the gas and linked up with half-time substitute Bernat on the flanks. This particular partnership allowed him to make clear-cut approaches into the byline and deliver quality crosses into the box.
Thomas Muller – 7.5
His perseverance and constant attempts to get into spaces behind the Old Lady defensive wall ultimately got him his reward in injury time of normal time. He made his positioning absolutely perfect to turn and meet Kingsley Coman’s sumptuous cross and save Bayern by the skin of their teeth.
Following the goal, he turned provider in the 108th minute, a quickfire one-two with Thiago giving Bayern the all-important lead.
Douglas Costa – 8
The Brazilian was on song right from the word go – he found Arturo Vidal with an inch-perfect pass in the first 5 minutes, only for the Chilean to scuff his shot. He kept troubling the Juventus defence – with his lightning-quick feet causing them problems.
He was rewarded for a brilliant performance on 74 minutes when his drifting cross was met with great aplomb by Robert Lewandowski to give Bayern hope.
Robert Lewandowski – 7
The free-scoring Polish striker missed a couple of good opportunities in the first half to put Bayern on the scoresheet but nevertheless kept trying to do what he does best – beating the offside trap to get himself into one-on-one positions with the goalkeeper.
Lewandowski ultimately managed to beat them to a header from Costas wonderful cross to bring Bayern back into the tie.
Substitutions:
Juan Bernat – 7
The fullback was brought on at half-time to provide some flow to Bayern’s attack on the left wing. The move seemed to be working, as Bernat was continuously able to send Franck Ribery on his way up the field to exert the pressure on Stephan Lichtsteiner.
Kingsley Coman – 8.5
What a timely substitution this was by Pep Guardiola. His superb crosses were beginning to keep Andrea Barzagli and Leo Bonucci on their toes – they were no longer looking settled dealing with aerial balls. It was Coman’s brilliant cross that helped Muller score Bayern’s second in the first minute of injury time.
He played an invaluable part in Bayern’s first goal too, keeping the ball from going out of play and laying it for Costa to do the honours of providing the perfect cross for Lewandowski. He sealed the tie with what appeared a pass into the net in the 110th minute to send Bayern into the quarterfinals.
Thiago Alcantara – 7.5
The Spaniard – who replaced Ribery on 101 minutes – did his job in the 108th minute, completing a smart one-two with Robert Lewandowski to give his side the lead for the first time in the game and send Juventus fans into silence.
Juventus
Gianluigi Buffon – 7
A couple of saves apart, there was nothing the everlasting keeper had to do. He was personally powerless to allow any of the Bayern goals from entering the net.
Stephan Lichtsteiner – 7
The Swiss played an integral part in Juventus’ opener, capitalising on the Neuer-Alaba mix-up big time to see his shot eventually find Pogba – who had to roll the ball into an empty net. Defensively he was solid, keeping Ribery quiet. As the game wore on, he was pressed back by Bernat and Ribery’s link-up play.
Andrea Barzagli – 6.5
He was brilliant for 75 minutes but lost his confidence and sense of serenity after Lewandowski scored to bring Bayern back in the tie. The gaps began to show in the Juventus defence since. Muller’s last-gasp equaliser signalled heartbreak for Barzagli after such a spirited defensive performance.
Leonardo Bonucci – 6.5
Like Barzagli, his centre-half partner too defended resolutely for 75 minutes, keeping Muller and Lewandowski in check before the clean sheet was going. Panic began creeping in and Bayern took full advantage, just.
Patrice Evra – 6
The former Manchester United man can be held guilty for Bayern’s equaliser, losing possession to Vidal trying to advance out of Juventus’ defensive area with the ball rather than hacking it away to safety.
Evra was no match for Coman and Costa in extra-time as the duo were just too quick for his liking on the wings.
Hernanes – 6.5
Could not offer much going forward with the same effect as Claudio Marchisio would have done. However, he did shield his back four well – winning most of the duels he was involved in to give Juventus some relief from Bayern's dominance.
Sami Khedira – 6.5
The German was pretty influential in setting up Juventus’ first goal, his lofted ball creating confusion between Neuer and Alaba as to who would deal with it – resulting in a total mix-up and Pogba slotting home into an empty net. He was relatively quiet after that and was subbed off for Stefano Sturaro on 68 minutes.
Paul Pogba – 7.5
The rising midfield superstar was yet again immense on the big night, surging forward whenever his side had possession with the ball and putting the Bayern centre-backs on the backfoot in the first half. His goal – albeit into an empty net – gave Juventus an advantage they doubled later, but could not hold on to at the end of the game.
Juan Cuadrado – 7
The on-loan Chelsea winger was head and shoulders above David Alaba in the first half, completing a couple of dribbles and pegging the Austrian back to his own defensive half each time he tried to advance forward.
He kept his composure to avoid challenges from two Bayern players to smash home Juventus’ second after an amazing solo run by Alvaro Morata.
Alvaro Morata – 7.5
The ex-Real Madrid man made his mark on the game with a sublime counter-attacking run, easily skipping past four Bayern Munich players as if they weren’t even present there. The lay-off to Cuadrado that followed resulted in Juventus’ second goal, ensuring that Morata’s solo effort didn’t go waste.
He managed to get a couple of attempts on target, but both were fairly routine stops for Neuer. He was replaced by Mandzukic after 72 minutes to give Juventus some fresh legs going forward.
Alex Sandro – 6.5
Juventus’ summer signing was consistent over the 120 minutes, attempting to set the Old Lady on counter-punches in response to Bayern’s total possession of the ball. He completed a few dribbles to assert some authority on the wings for an hour or so.
Substitutions:
Stefano Sturaro – 5.5
The goalscorer from the first leg replaced Sami Khedira after 68 minutes but failed to make an impact – losing possession regularly in the middle of the pitch to give Bayern some more control over their opponents.
Mario Mandzukic – 6
His substitution could have meant only two things – either Morata was tiring or he was injured. There was no way his hold-up play was ever going to test Bayern Munich on the break. That’s exactly what had happened.
Roberto Pereyra – 6
Pereyra replaced Juan Cuadrado to refill some energy and life into Juventus’ attacking index, but Bayern’s dominance constrained him from doing anything that could turn the game back in Juventus’ favour.
