Beaten, battered and buoyant: a tale of two European Superpowers
Leo Messi despairs as Bayern score again
Barcelona’s heaviest defeat since black and white TV left them embarrassed and broken on the European stage. They hit “rock bottom”, according to Gerard Pique. Let’s take a look at what just happened...this may take a while.
Bayern Munich had been on an absolute tear since Hansi Flick took charge, winning 30 of his 33 games in charge since he became Head Coach. His Bayern Munich side play an extremely high line with Boateng and Alaba at centre back, pushing the full backs high up, and allowing the two wingers in the 4-2-3-1 to come inside. The two midfielders typically split, with one usually slightly deeper and the other moving forward to combine more with Müller, the wingers and Lewandowski. With an incredibly athletic and technically gifted team, they press the ball with an insatiable appetite to win it back high up the pitch if possible. To facilitate this they use the aforementioned high line, confident in the belief that either Alaba, Boateng or Davies will be able to cover, or that they will simply outscore the opposition regardless.
Barcelona meanwhile, have not had a good season. They have flitted between various formations, struggled to get the best out of Frenkie de Jong, stopped trying to get the best out of Griezmann, and relied more heavily than ever upon the greatness of 33 year old Leo Messi. They have pace at full back, but they have to have secure possession of the ball in order to exploit it. Their 4-4-2 formation with Sergio Roberto and Vidal on the wings, is perhaps one of the strangest formations I’ve ever seen, in terms of the sheer number of square pegs in round holes. Their decision to play 2 in centre midfield puts extra pressure on de Jong and Busquets to cover the space, and Busquets, for all of his quality, has never been the most athletic. Meanwhile, Suarez’s age and knee surgeries mean that he can’t exploit high lines like he used to be able to, while Ansu Fati sits kicking his heels on the bench of a team crying out for pace on the wings. Oh, and their most creative midfielder...is on loan at Bayern Munich.
“They are playing against Barça, not against teams from the Bundesliga. They are playing against the best team in the world.”
This brings us to tonight’s game. The reality is, while the scoreline is shocking and eye catching, this was normal service resumed. Barça have been varying degrees of pedestrian and uninterested all season, while Bayern under Flick have been uncompromising, relentless and dominant. Even then, this was both a new high and new low, respectively. As humiliating as this defeat was, it could have been double digits. Barcelona stubbornly tried to play out from the back from the first moment of the game, disregarding Bayern’s intense high press. This led them to disaster on multiple occasions, whether it was Perišić’s goal, Müller’s 2nd goal or Coutinho’s 1st goal.
For the 5 others, well, wow. The move which ended in Gnabry’s sumptuous volley contained one of the best through balls I have ever seen from Goretzka, while Thiago, another former Barcelona player (seeing a pattern here?) pulled the strings all night with ease. The skill involved in Müller’s first goal to play a one-two with Lewandowski from a volley was sensational, and the desire he showed to get on the end of his second showed the stark difference between the two sides.
Müller and Gnabry celebrate yet another Bayern goal
The ballad of Philippe Countinho continues...a player written off by all showed his class by contributing to 3 goals in 15 minutes. For all the rumours swirling regarding where he will go on loan next, surely Barcelona could do worse? His cameo really underlined both the farcical transfer strategy on show by Bartomeu and co. in recent years and his quality. The cross for Lewandowski was pinpoint, while his goals were well taken. How sweet must they have felt against the team who refuse to try to make it work? One only needs to look at second half substitute, Antoine Griezzman, to see just how mismanaged this team has been both in the transfer window and on the training ground.
I’m torn; is this Barcelona team in desperate need of major surgery, or are they in need of root and branch internal reform? As Pique noted after the game, this is not the first time they have been embarrassed and shown to be unable to compete on the European stage. We have seen in Hansi Flick and the Bayern Munich board the difference highly competent hires can make, and one can’t help but wonder if Barcelona are simply hiring the wrong people for the job.
Messi, Messi, Messi, a penny for his thoughts. He showed his brilliance in the first half, hitting the post from a wicked cross, cutting through the Bayern Munich defence to force a save from Neuer, and finding Alba with a great pass to force Alaba’s own goal, but he faded badly in the 2nd half. Compared to Neymar’s performance vs Atalanta, Messi refused to drop deep and orchestrate the play when the team needed him to, didn’t press the ball and gave up limply for Coutinho’s 1st goal. I know he isn’t usually the most demonstrative presence on the pitch, but quite frankly it just looked like he didn’t want to be there. Is he fed up with Barcelona? Only he knows, but they will need more from him, both in terms of effort and leadership if they are to improve next year.
“We have hit rock bottom. This is not the first time, nor the second, nor the third time. We are not on the right path... We all have to think internally and decide what is best for the club, for Barça. Tonight was unacceptable for Barcelona....structurally the club needs changes of all kinds. We must bring in new blood to change this dynamic, and if necessary, I would be the first to leave.”
So, onwards and upwards for FC Bayern München in the Champions League. They should have been favourites to win the title before today’s play, and they certainly will be now. The only question is can teams exploit their high line while also shutting out their stellar attack? With Müller in the form of his career, Gnabry and Perišić flying, Davies and Kimmich in the opposition six yard box, Thiago composing sweet melodies, and Lewandowski just doing his thing, that looks like an incredibly difficult, if not impossible task.
They seem to be approaching matches with the attitude of ‘If we concede, no problem, we’ll just outscore you’, and on this showing they’re probably right. However, a savvy team with the right blend of adventure, tactics and luck can definitely give them problems. With teams such as Manchester City and PSG still involved, Bayern know they cannot get overconfident. The prized 6th Champions League is still far from won yet.