With the semifinal of Paris St. Germain vs. Red Bull Leipzig already locked in, it was time to determine the other two teams in the semifinal match. The winners of Barcelona vs. Bayern Munich and Manchester City vs. Olympique Lyonnais would advance to play each other.
Barcelona 2 – 8 Bayern Munich
That is not a typo in the scoreline there. It seems like it should be, but no – Bayern scored 8 (eight) goals against Barca and thoroughly demolished them in every way. It would almost take a separate blog post to list out all the goal action, but Thomas Müller (x2), Ivan Perisic, Serge Gnabry, Joshua Kimmich, Robert Lewandowski, and Phillipe Coutinho (x2) were all scorers for the dominant German side. Barca got an early own goal via Bayern center back David Alaba and a 2nd from Donkey Face Luis Suarez just after half time, but Barca never got within 2 goals of Bayern after that.
There are many reasons for such a lopsided victory, which was a record in many different ways. For one, Bayern are an absolutely ruthless and well-oiled football machine, and they do nothing but churn out goals. Every single player in the side from the goalkeeper to the forwards is excellent on the ball, and they can all pass with precision and power. Add in the fact that they seem to be able to communicate with each other telepathically at times, and you have the recipe for an incredibly dangerous team. Alaba’s blemish and a few wasted chances early on by Barca aside, Bayern were almost perfect today. All credit to their German manager Hansi Flick because I think Bayern are the best club team in the world right now and it will be difficult for any team left in this tournament to beat them. If they weren’t the favorites before, they certainly are now.
Fun fact: I learned today that Bayern have a guy from Canada playing for them! I haven’t seen a Canadian playing in Europe in ages, let alone for a major club side like Bayern. Shout out to left back Alphonso Davies for representing North America well today with a scintillating run and assist on Kimmich’s goal.
I think the other reason for the major defeat today is that Barca are a powerhouse in decline. They have been a dominant side in both Spain and Europe for the past 10-12 years thanks to the efforts of legendary players like Lionel Messi, Thierry Henry, Neymar, Suarez, Xavi, Carlos Puyol, and Andres Iniesta to name a few. However, the superstars they have left are all now on the wrong side of 30 and the club has not invested properly in replacements. They have relied on the greatness of Messi to bail them out for a very long time, and because he is the greatest player of all time that strategy has worked in the past. But he’s 33 now, and today he couldn’t bail them out. Bayern didn’t let him anywhere near the ball for long periods of the game and Barca’s attack was stifled significantly.
It would be easy to lay the blame for Barca’s worst loss since 1951 today solely on the players and manager Quique Setien, but truth be told the problems Barca have go much deeper than just the players and manager. I think the massive defensive errors, poor player selection, and poor tactics on display today are all symptoms of an overarching disease. As stated briefly above, the players brought in by the Barca board of directors and president Josep Bartomeu have not panned out in the way they were expected to. Further, they have let key players go that probably should have stayed, such as Coutinho. His departure stings especially because technically Coutinho is only on loan to Bayern and scored twice against his parent club today. They are paying him to score against them! The club’s famed La Masia youth academy is not turning out quality players on a consistent basis, either.
This team plays stale tactics with players that are not where they used to be physically. It’s obvious that Setien is getting sacked before too much longer, but nothing will change at the club unless Bartomeu and the board are also sacked. The structure of the club needs to be rid of the egos that have created such a toxic environment there. Will Messi stay? Will Messi go? That is just one of many questions that need to be answered if Barca wants to return to it’s previously elite status.
Manchester City 1 – 3 Olympique Lyonnais
Before I get into the analysis here I need to take a moment to laugh at Man City. Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha. Ha.
Right then. City came into this match as heavy favorites, and before kick off this game had a feel similar to the Atalanta/PSG match. You knew PSG were likely to win it, but Lyon’s team play and tactics are solid so you weren’t quite sure who would come out on top. City’s Spanish manager Pep Guardiola is considered one of the best managers in the world and he has a plethora of talent to choose from in any given game. Despite his successes at Barcelona, Bayern Munich, and Man City in their respective domestic leagues, he has struggled in Europe since leaving Spain. Man City have never won the Champions League and with Real Madrid and other giants like Juventus and Barcelona out of the way, there has never been a better opportunity for City to do well.
As has been a theme in this tournament though, nothing has gone according to script. Despite having the possession advantage for the first 20 minutes or so, City found themselves down 1-0 on 24 minutes after a goal from French left back Maxwell Cornet. A long ball over the top of the City defense fell to Cameroonian forward Karl Toko-Ekambi, but City keeper Ederson was quick off his line and got a block in on the shot, but the ball rebounded to Cornet who deftly hit the ball around Ederson and into the left side of the goal. It was just what Lyon needed to make City start worrying and begin to doubt themselves. The scoreline did not change after that in the first half, even though Cornet was forced to make a key block on England forward Raheem Sterling that could have easily led to a City goal. Lyon keeper Anthony Lopes was called into action on several occasions to make saves and also break up crosses into the box. It looked awkward at times for him but he and the Lyon back 4 did just enough to keep City out in the first half
City were in the ascendancy for the first 25 minutes or so of the second half, and it was via Sterling and all-world midfielder Kevin de Bruyne that they got their equalizer on 69 minutes. Sterling did well to beat his man in the left side of the penalty area, and he cut the ball back towards de Bruyne who streaked in and side-footed past Lopes. De Bruyne had been in excellent form throughout the match and the captain was easily City’s best player on the day. Excellent vision, passing, free kicks, and ball control from the Belgian today. Brazilian forward Gabriel Jesus was unlucky to not put City up 2-1 when the ball fell to him in the right side of the penalty box. He tried to hit the ball on the volley first-time but accidentally struck the top of the ball, meaning most of the power in his shot went straight into the ground. The ball bounced harmlessly over the goal and out for a goal kick.
Lyon did not fold under the pressure though, and to their credit they kept attacking. Lyon manager Rudi Garcia played an absolute blinder tactically today. Guardiola was out-witted, and not for the first time this season. Garcia put on substitute striker Moussa Dembele for the largely ineffective Memphis Depay, and the dividends were paid almost immediately. City’s back line were caught high up on the pitch, and the ball was played through towards Ekambi who had made a run behind the City defense. He appeared to be offside, but let the ball run through his legs to Dembele who was streaking in behind him and to his right. Dembele had shed his marker Aymeric Laporte and after a few touches slid it under Ederson and into the City goal for 2-1 Lyon. This was a controversial goal due to not only the potential offside by Ekambi, but also due to a foul on Laporte by Dembele before he received the ball. Dembele appeared to clip the heals of Laporte in order to get around him, causing him to fall. However, VAR confirmed the goal and Lyon had restored their lead 2-1 on 79 minutes. City fans probably felt particularly aggrieved by the decision.
City pushed for an equalizer and almost had one on 85 minutes when a good cross from Jesus on the right side found an unmarked Sterling about 7 yards from goal with the keeper stranded on the other side. Sterling hit the ball first time but somehow turned the ball over the top of the goal and out of bounds. It was a very bad miss from him. Indeed, from that position and that close in it’s harder to miss than it is to put it in. City were punished for this error just 59 seconds later when the ball was won by Lyon in midfield and brought forward by substitute Jeff Rene-Adelaide. He played the ball to his left and found midfielder Houssem Arouar, who cut inside onto his right foot and lashed a shot at the City goal. The ball was only parried by Ederson and not very well, as it fell straight to Dembele who scrambled it over the line for 3-1. Sheer bedlam on the Lyon bench and utter dejection from Guardiola and City.
City forged a few more good chances in the dying minutes, but as was the case for most of the match, they could not convert and struggled to get shots on target. Many questions will be asked of Guardiola after this stunning defeat, such as why he failed to bring on more creative players when down 2-1 despite having 3+ substitutions left. City fans can only blame the referee for so much here. This loss was largely down to the tactics of Guardiola. City had 72% of the possession today but could only manage 7 shots on target over 90 minutes. That’s a very low shot-on-target rate for a team with players the caliber of which City has. Lyon’s keeper was in good form and their back-4 generally played very well to be sure, but City spent far too much time passing it around near the halfway line, and nowhere near enough time getting men forward and creating shooting chances. There was some poor finishing on display to be sure, but the missed chances hurt more when you don’t create many of them. It will be interesting to see what happens with Guardiola and the ownership of Man City going forward.
Lyon advances to play Bayern Munich in the semifinals of the Champions League.
Preview – Manchester United vs. Sevilla (Europa League Semifinal)
The Red Devils will take on Sevilla FC from the south of Spain in Cologne, Germany on Sunday at noon PT / 3 ET America time. This is a one-off match with the winner advancing to the Europa League final on Friday August 21.
United will hope for a cooler day than the sweltering weather they played in against Copenhagen, as a warm day will favor the Spanish opposition. The south of Spain is incredibly warm 8-9 months out of the year, so a bit of heat won’t really bother them. Manchester, in the northwest of England, is usually rather cold and I don’t think a lot of our English/northern European players are used to playing in heat.
Anyway, enough about the weather. I was impressed with Sevilla’s performance against Wolverhampton Wanderers in their quarterfinal match, although their victory was not without flaws. Sevilla are very good in possession, and Argentine midfielder Ever Banega pulls the strings for them in attack. He is a little past his prime at age 31, but clearly still capable of running a game for his side. They also look solid in defense as well, having shut down the Wolves attack for most of the second half.
I did see opportunities for Sevilla to be hit on the counter-attack though. The speedy Adama Traore was able to run at the Sevilla center-backs once or twice in the first half, and with some more clinical finishing Wolves may have found themselves ahead. That encourages me. Wolves have 1 player that can break quickly and attack. United have at least 4-5. I think if United sit back and absorb pressure, we can get at them on the counter-attack. Of course the passing and the timing of the counter-attacks will need to be spot-on, but I think the play of Anthony Martial and Harry Maguire will be especially important. Martial for his hold up play and passing when other forwards are running to join the attack, and Maguire for his ability to clear crosses in the air in a way that gets United off and running on the break. My expected line-up:
Romero
AWB – Lindelof – Maguire – Williams
Matic – Pogba
Greenwood – Bruno – Rashford
Martial
Paul Pogba will be given license to push forward when appropriate, and look for Marcus Rashford and Mason Greenwood to switch sides occasionally if the attack isn’t clicking. I expect Sevilla to try and attack us down their right side and expose the defensive frailties of Brandon Williams, so it will be the duties of Maguire and Nemanja Matic to ensure he gets extra help when he needs it.
Glory Glory Man United!
4-4-2 