A repeat of Barcelona's 4-0 UEFA Champions League semi-final first-leg beat at the hands of Bayern Munich Hamilton Academical Barcelona were on the receiving end of huge 0-4 defeat today, because the Blaugrana were outclassed by a Bayern Munich area filled with hunger, motivation and discipline. The scoring was opened by thomas MAller on 25 minutes with a finish, and Mario Gomez doubled the hostsa advantage with the same finish just four minutes after the half-time break. Arjen Robben made three to it with less than 20 minutes before MAller rounded off a night for the Bavarians with his second of the evening on 82 minutes remaining. Because of this year at least, Barcelonaas UEFA Champions League dreams are all but over. Bayern Barcelona Control 34% 66% Total Pictures 15 4 Photos on Target 7 1 Pass Accuracy 81% 91% Fouls 16 10 Offsides 3 1 Orange Cards 3 4 Red Cards 0 0 There were no surprises with regards to staff selection; Lionel Messi, who had just received the medical green light, was cast to the deep-end, starting his first game in three days and he was joined in assault by Pedro and Alexis SAnchez, just as expected. Jerome Boateng started in the center of security for Bayern Munich a' just like many predicted, and Arjen Robben took his place on the right-hand side of the assault. Now, would the fit live up to its billing? Bayern began the match, and quickly relinquished control with their Catalan counterparts as Lionel Messi pounced on an under-hit move from Mario Gomez to get the ball for the Blaugrana. Everyone estimated Barcelona to take control property, however not really to the extent. Bayern didnat have still another touch of the ball for over one minute a' almost unthinkable for a Bayern team who have dominated matches, and certainly property, on the way to an archive 23rd Bundesliga subject. But, even without the lionas share of ownership, Bayern were taken the lead within three full minutes of the opening whistle, and might have still planning to threaten Victor ValdAs in the Barcelona goal, but Robbenas envy got the better of him yet again. In the place of moving the ball over the box to 1 of his teammates who'd have experienced a simple tap-in at the far-post, Robben went for goal herself, and was rejected by ValdAs. Although he could be gifted, Robben was always going to find it difficult to convert against an owner of ValdAsa quality for the reason that condition. Probably that opportunity might drive Barcelona to play a bit more conservatively, and give Bayern the confidence to really get the game to the visitors? And to an extent, it did. Barcelona continued to move the ball around safety and midfield, seldom venturing into Bayernas defensive next a' even though when they did, it was obvious that they were favouring the right-hand side of these attack. It helped that Pedro started the match well, and that Alves is just a constant menace for opposing groups, but there was more to it than that a Tito Vilanova had relatively determined David Alaba as the weak-link in the Bayern security. Certainly not the absolute most complex of techniques, yet the early signs were encouraging. Pedro tried to defend myself against Alaba, and appeared to achieve a or two or house, before Alaba retrieved to confess a large part. According to normal, BarAa didnat make the all of the place, while Iam sure Tito wouldnat have minded a' Barcelona were likely to produce better possibilities before the evening was over. However, there have been huge question marks surrounding their safety as Marc Bartra specifically looked to be struggling to cope with the pressure at the Allianz Arena. While there were no glaring errors, there was a lack of really genuine defending a' an entire lack of authority in the backline a' and as a result, Barcelona were struggling to effortlessly distinct their lines; it was almost like there was an air of panic in regards to the Blaugrana protection each time Bayern went forward. And the vociferous group may sense it; these were urging their area on, willing them to have the goal that will place them in get a grip on with this tie. Philipp Lahm tried his luck from long-range, and appealed for a charge as Gerard PiquA did actually block his goal-bound shot along with his arm a but Viktor Kassai was unmoved by Bayernas protests. The photo wrote the beginning of a prolonged amount of Bayern pressure; four edges in the next twenty minutes including the one that could well prove decisive in this tie. The spot itself was awful, as Franck Ribery couldnat even have the ball past the first-line of defense, but even so, BarAa couldnat clear their lines. The ball broke free to Arjen Robben, and Alexis SAnchez surged forward to meet the Dutch winger a' leaving space behind the protection that Thomas MAller surely could manipulate. Credit to SAnchez, he recovered from that error, pushing MAller to play the ball out large and back once again to Robben a' which finally proved to be Barcelonaas drop. Robben provided the cross and Dante towered over Dani Alves to unintentionally aid Thomas MAller, who completed from close range, despite the efforts of Victor ValdAs. Bayern Munich were forward, and deservedly so. They could have already been dominating possession, but Barcelona were making hardly any chances a' their best "chance" in the first-half didnat also result in a shot, as Pedroas tantalising corner was turned behind by Dante. Without that treatment, Lionel Messi could have surely converted his ninth goal of this UEFA Champions League plan and dragged the Blaugrana back into this match. On another hand, Bayern werenat making much from open play both a' and because of this, they only had a one-goal cause their name following a fairly perfect first-half performance. Certainly Barcelona couldnat be as quiet in the second-half? Very nearly immediately, Barcelona surged forward in search of an equaliser, only to be foiled by the linesmanas flag. Undoubtedly, AndrAs Iniesta didnat convert the possibility, as well as obtain a shot away at goal because of the quick thinking about Manuel Neuer, nonetheless it may have been a half-chance a' if only the flag had stayed down. And ironically, the hole stayed down only minutes later, but it was at the wrong end a' as well as the wrong choice a as Bayern doubled their advantage. Needless to say the chance was produced from a, and again, Dani Alves was culpable a' but just like the marking was bad, therefore was the officiating as Gomez concluded the chance from an obvious offside position. At this stage, itas nearly inexcusable for an referee to miss that call, particularly at a set-piece where in fact the protection is essentially static. After all, itas his job to look later on and contact offside a' just how can he possibly miss this decision? We were less than five minutes into the second-half at the Allianz Arena a' that meant there is 40 minutes left for Barcelona to salvage something, something from this fit. An absent target would have been great a' BarAa could have headed back to the Camp Nou realizing that a 1-0 gain would send them through to the final. A perfectly possible, perfectly reasonable target for the second-leg. Forget the refereeas decisions, this sport was still within reach, all we needed was anyone to take the Blaugrana back into the link. Naturally, every one turned to Lionel Messi. Exactly how many times has he saved us over time? Barcelona have been similarly ineffective within their last UCL semi-final achievement, against Real Madrid in 2011, until the game was turned by Messi on its head with a support. But there could be no such heroics tonight. Messi was plainly struggling with his damage a' and who are able to really criticise him for that? After this type of sustained amount of popularity at the top of the game, Messi had set his previous injury difficulties firmly in the past a' just for them to resurface at the absolute most inconvenient time. Physically in addition to mentally, that should have experienced an enormous affect Messi and no-one the initiative to be taken by else was ready ( or able ). As an alternative, we were treated to an obscure cause of BarAa pressure, which only served to create time and space for Bayern to thrive on the counter-attack. After changing Mario Gomez with Luiz Gustavo, it had been obvious that Bayern were inviting the stress. They knew they could counter to devastating effect and manage anything Barcelona used at them;. Of program, Barcelona couldnat just give up, but only a little warning really could have benefitted them a' as within seconds of the replacement, Bayern had scored again a' now thanks to Arjen Robben. After experiencing several defeats to the Blaugrana over as a member of Chelsea, Real Madrid the years and even with Bayern, Robben was determined to set the record straight so to speak. He was helping out at the rear, creating possibilities for his teammates, every little thing a winger is expected to do (coincidentally, just as Bayern announced the signing of Mario GAtze) a' and from a totally objective point-of-view, his performance probably merited a goal. Maybe not this way. It was a good counter-attack from Bayern, as Ribery worked the ball inside to Schweinsteiger, and as Schweinsteiger found Robben in space on the right-hand side of attack, however the purpose itself must have never stood. As Robben cut inside for the photo, MAller established an ideal basketball screen to block Jordi Alba a but this isnat basketball. This really is football, and MAller coldly blocked Alba, letting Robben to position the ball past ValdAs and ensure it is 3-0. So I checked the rulebook, and hereas what I found under a whole section titled: "Impeding the Progress of an Opponent." "Impeding the development of an opponent means stepping into the trail of the opponent to block, block, slow down or force a change of direction by an opponent when the ball is not within enjoying distance of either person. All participants have a to their place on the subject of play, being in the way of an opposition isn't the just like getting into the way of an opponent." Thatas quite clear in my experience, and all used to do was a fast search on Google. Think of how clear that concept is always to me if I were a qualified UEFA umpire who has facilitated in countless matches, including a Champions League final... Honestly, there were several factors against Barcelona tonight a' at the forefront of that list, youad set Bayern Munich, they were better, congratulations to them, but exactly why is it that time and time again, referees and their choices enter this list? This isnat some kick-about at your local park, this is the UEFA Champions League a' there's an enormous amount of money at risk for these clubs, money which can be ripped far from a club as a result of inefficient referees who cannot recall or are too spineless to enforce the guidelines. Do Barcelona need the amount of money? Of course not, but do they deserve to admit two entirely unjust targets that may and must have been prevented by a group of officials? Maybe Bayern would have scored two more goals, neither of which might have been eliminated for an offense a' or maybe Barcelona would have been able to save some thing using this link? The regrettable truth is that we can never understand what might have occurred, we can just only speculate on the results it might have had a' and during this period, we deserve better. As Bayern won a in the 82nd moment (Thomas MAller, again), the score could have been 2-0, and even as we saw against AC Milan, Barcelona could have recovered from that debt. Given that Bayern have a 4-0 lead in their favour, Barcelonaas likelihood of advancement are slim to none (on the other hand, so how epic might a at the Camp Nou be?). Anyway, back to the game as Jordi Alba acquired a yellow card for "throwing" the ball at Robbenas experience, and thus he'll skip the second leg which can be to be contested in a over a weekas time. AndrAs Iniesta was also arranged, although the match will not be missed by him through suspension, unlike his luck was ridden by Bastian Schweinsteiger, who for 87 minutes before finally picking right up a yellow card. He'll miss the second-leg a and the cynic in me shows that it absolutely was probably prepared, he wouldnat wish to miss the ultimate after all... Itall be interesting to see precisely how Barcelona pick themselves up using this defeat a' the league title is in the case, but a tough visit to San Mames is scarcely what the physician ordered for a BarAa group that is probably be with out a number of key people, and crucially, low on confidence. Theoretically, the tie is not over, and even though it's, Barcelona still have pleasure to play for. If they gain by two, or three objectives and roll up at the Camp Nou next Wednesday, I'll be immensely happy with their efforts; regardless of whether they make it to Wembley. Changes (if they are tactical or elsewhere) are so as, and folks like Puyol and Mascherano who may have made a dangerous return from injury are unlikely to be risked a' thereas just no place in toying with their exercise at this stage a but thatas no reason for BarAa to give up the ghost. If Bayern can defeat Barcelona 4-0, then why canat Barcelona defeat Bayern 4-0? Unlikely? Obviously, but just a little faith never hurt anybody. After all, the past time Barcelona suffered this kind of heavy defeat was probably in May 2008, as Real Madrid ran-out 4-1 champions on an awful evening at the Santiago Bernabeu a and we all understand what happened next: Barcelona answered. And thatas really all we want to see from our characters, a response. Till then, Visca el BarAa! Follow us on Twitter
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