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Within the opening 30 minutes, Bayern Munich were four goals to the good against RB Salzburg in their UEFA Champions League Round of 16 second leg on Tuesday.
The Allianz Arena has seen such blistering European nights many times. Arsenal, Basel, Barcelona, Tottenham and Shakhtar Donetsk have all left this ground conceding a basket full of goals in recent years. Salzburg have now been added to that list.
Their performance in the first leg gave the impression they could give Bayern a run for their money, drawing 1-1 in Austria. However, once the game started at the Allianz Arena, it quickly became a non-contest.
The Bavarians were just too good. Salzburg couldn’t cope with their intensity as they were wallopped 7-1 on the night and 8-2 on aggregate. That marked the seventh time Bayern scored at least seven times in a Champions League game, twice more than any other club.
Bavarians blow away hapless Salzburg
Julian Nagelsmann said in his pre-match press conference that Bayern needed to be ruthless. That is exactly what his team was against the Austrian champions.
Robert Lewandowski was in beast mode, with his 23-minute hat-trick literally ending the tie as a contest. That marked the quickest hat-trick from the start of a Champions League game. Further goals from Serge Gnabry, Thomas Muller (two) and Leroy Sane ensured Maurits Kjaergaard’s strike was only a consolation.
Some pundits described Salzburg’s performance as naive, but the fact is that when Bayern are in such a ruthless mood, they take no prisoners. The Bavarians have routed some of Europe’s best teams at the Allianz Arena, including Barcelona. They are that good, and on nights like this, they are simply unstoppable.
Bayern Munich flex their muscles
Bayern Munich were limping in the build-up to the second leg against Salzburg, having won only two of their five previous games across competitions. However, Nagelsmann’s men served a timely reminder of their quality and pedigree by putting on a dominant performance against the Austrian champions.
This is the Bayern the world has grown accustomed to, and the team was at its ruthless best against Salzburg. They may have gone into the game on the back of a stuttering run of form, but they rose to the occasion with aplomb.
There are a few teams that could win this season’s UEFA Champions League. On the back of Bayern’s latest display, the Bavarians are certainly one of the favourites to go all the way.
