FC Bayern is again group winner in the Champions League. The convincing victory at FC Barcelona, ??who failed in the group phase, makes Robert Lewandowski’s great frustration even greater. The former backup and his successor meet.
If UEFA meant well with FC Barcelona, ??this plan failed miserably on Wednesday evening. If the early start of the Inter Milan game against Viktoria Pilsen meant a boost in motivation for the Catalans, the intention was reversed. Because even before the Catalan giants played FC Bayern (9 p.m.), it was clear: the time in the Champions League ends in the preliminary round. Inter won as expected and expected clearly against Viktoria Pilsen (4-0), so things were already settled in Group C after the 18.45 game – and the mood and performance of coach Xavi’s team was bad. FC Bayern won 3-0 at the legendary Camp Nou and now has a perfect 15 points from five games and an outstanding goal record of 16-2.
FC Barcelona, ??on the other hand, climbs back into the Europa League as third in the group (a bitter déjà vu with last season, also in a group with FC Bayern). Small consolation: With Juventus Turin and Atlético Madrid, two other heavyweights flew out of the premier class. Whether they follow Barça into the European second division or don’t have to push any more cup shifts at all, that will be decided on the last day of the preliminary round. This will take Barcelona to Pilsen next Tuesday. It will be one of the most insignificant and frustrating business trips in the club’s history.
Now it’s not like the hard knockout came as a surprise. It was generally considered impossible that competitor Inter would fail at home against the Czechs. Because the Italians got back into shape after a weak start to the season, Viktoria’s squad is not competitive enough at this highest international level. And that was gathered in this group. In terms of sport, the descent from the premier class is a debacle. But the end is still hard on the economic flank of the still reeling giant, which is indebted at 1.35 billion euros. Staying in the Champions League should have healed the gash a bit.
Two and a half weeks ago, management presented a record budget for this season of 1.25 billion euros, which assumed that the team, which had been massively upgraded with fresh money in the summer (through the extensive sale of TV and studio rights), would include star strikers Robert Lewandowski not only reached the round of 16 of the Champions League, but also the quarter-finals. Additional income of 20 million euros was therefore planned. And now, puff cake. “This competition is very cruel to us, both in Munich due to a lack of effectiveness, in Milan due to offensive weaknesses and certain circumstances that I don’t have to explain any further. Today it was our individual mistakes,” Xavi explained after the bitter 3rd point pointing to relegation: 3 against Inter on matchday four.
The giant summit between the two largest FCBs in world football was already dwarfed before kick-off. While Bayern tightened up at the Camp Nou and continued to work on bulging the not so small dent (officially a result crisis in the Bundesliga), Barcelona and Lewandowski struggled with the situation. A couple of nice twisting movements by the Spanish super talent Pedri, a couple of good scenes in counter-pressing, a couple of spectacular dribbles and cross runs by Ousmane Dembélé and Alex Balde, not much more came about.
Goal threat? no Lewandowski? Logged out. The duel of the “nines”, a story that was written in capital letters before this evening, went to his “successor” Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, who again scored a goal that made it 2-0 – the 1-0 was scored by Sadio Mané (10. ), the 3-0 Benjamin Pavard (95th) – and his status as a fixed starter (as sporting director Hasan Salihamidži? called it) underpinned. Contract talks are to follow, his contract expires in the summer. Choupo-Moting has good arguments for continued employment. Serge Gnabry also collected good arguments for himself and his claims as a key player. His assist to the Mané goal with a dropkick from midfield into the Senegalese’s path was simply sensational. He lined up other outstanding moments in the dominant game of his team. He also made it 2-0.
“It was a difficult game because we knew beforehand that we were eliminated,” said Xavi about the poor performance, but “that’s no excuse. Bayern were better than us today. It’s tough, but we have to keep going. My I feel like we had the quality to go through, but we made too many mistakes.” Yes, the quality is there. The squad is good for success in the present – things are going very well in the league, second behind Real Madrid – but above all it is a promise for the future. With Pedri, Gavi and Ansu Fati, three outstanding offensive talents are about to have a great career. In defence, Ronald Araújo, Alex Balde and Eric Garcia are considered great hopes. And that players like Dembélé and de Jong have currently overcome their crisis and are delivering is also a good story for Barça. And everything has been said about Robert Lewandowski anyway, even if he acted erratically in both duels against his ex-club – and was almost completely unregistered in front of a home crowd (remember: Barcelona). Thanks to Matthijs de Ligt.
“I think we played very nice duels. I’m very happy that he didn’t score a goal,” said the Dutch central defender after what was probably his best game for the record champions. The giant, who was signed by Juventus Turin for almost 70 million euros this summer, always feels in the form he wants to be. The fact that after a duel between him and Lewandowski (45th) there was no penalty for Barcelona, ??the 23-year-old took a deep breath. A tricky number that might have given the game another push in a different direction.
As it was, Bayern took the victory home. In the 55th minute, Serge Gnabry scored brilliantly, but was very slightly offside. “The way it gives us a lot of energy. We were really bilious. Barcelona probably didn’t expect that,” coach Julian Nagelsmann praised the robust performance at times (including numerous yellow cards). “We were patient and played good football, especially in the first 25 minutes, then we got a bit hectic. But in the end we scored three goals and didn’t concede a shot – that’s not too bad. The team sent a signal.” FC Bayern is ready to fight for Europe’s crown. And Barcelona? After all, they can now duel for Europe’s heaviest club trophy. Sounds kind of nicer than descent.
(This article was first published on Thursday, October 27, 2022.)
