Bayern Munich 2-0 Barcelona: match review as Robert Lewandowski misses affected Barca in Munich.
Barcelona’s meeting against Bayern Munich at the Allianz arena was the biggest match of the second matchday of the UEFA Champions League. Although there were several deep narratives in the game, the Catalans’ quest for acceptance and redemption served as its main motivator.
Ronald Araujo and Andreas Christensen began the game as the starting center-backs as Xavi chose with his best lineup of the evening. The pair were flanked to the right and left, respectively, by Jules Kounde and Marcos Alonso.
Sergio Busquets, Gavi, and Pedri dominated the center of the park, and Robert Lewandowski completed the group with Raphinha and Ousmane Dembele.
With a strong and high press, the hosts controlled the first few minutes of the game. They accelerated the pace of the game, and the fast-paced football persisted the entire time.
The first player to get a clean chance of the game came from Sadio Mane in the seventh minute, but he was unable to convert.
Pedri provided one of the most promising opportunities for Xavi’s team. The Canary Islander successfully made space for himself to fire after receiving the ball from Gavi, but Manuel Neuer demonstrated why he is regarded as the greatest in the field.
In the following twenty minutes of the game, Lewy had three excellent opportunities. In the tenth minute, Gavi found the Pole in front of goal as Barcelona started to take control of the game. A few minutes later, Neuer spilt the ball directly to him.
When Gavi put him through one on one against Neuer in the 18th minute, it was certainly his best opportunity. Lewandowski tried to score, but he was unsuccessful.
Barcelona was clearly the superior team in the first half, although Bayern Munich did have its share of opportunities. The half, however, was scoreless due to strong defense from both teams.
Lucas Hernandez gave Bayern the lead in the 51st minute with a towering header from a well-delivered corner. Less than five minutes later, Leroy Sane took on Barcelona’s defence all by himself to break through in front of the goal and put it past Ter Stegen.
Frenkie de Jong and Ferran Torres came on for the visitors in the 60th minute. Just a moment later, Pedri had a sensational chance to pull one back but hit the post.
The intensity from the Catalans fell in the final fifteen minutes as they looked set to accept defeat in the hands of Bayern Munich again. In the end, Barcelona could not even find a consolation goal and the game ended 2-0 in the Germans’ favour.
