It was a rather woeful outing for Barcelona as they crashed out of the Champions League race in a 10-goal thriller again Bayern Munich.
Bayern Munich raced out to a 4-1 lead over Barcelona after the first 31 minutes and never looked back, doubling it after halftime and winning, astoundingly, 8-2 in their Champions League quarterfinal in Lisbon, Portugal.
Lionel Messi and Robert Lewandowski headlined a matchup teeming with star power, but was the other big names stepping up for Bayern Munich.
Thomas Muller scored two goals, while Serge Gnabry and Ivan Perisic had a goal apiece before halftime for the German champions, who are aiming to win a first treble since 2013.
Barcelona’s first goal came via Bayern defender David Alaba, who clipped Jordi Alba’s cross into his own net to make it 1-1 in the seventh minute.
Luis Suarez made it 4-2 in the 57th minute, only for Joshua Kimmich to answer six minutes later to restore the three-goal edge.
Lewandowski only added onto the humiliation in the 84th minute with one of his own before Philippe Coutinho–on loan to Bayern from Barcelona–made it 8-2 soon after with a late double.
Barcelona, which left Antoine Griezmann on the bench in a shift to a 4-4-2 formation, nearly broke through in the third minute on the counterattack.
Messi sprung Sergi Roberto free down the left-hand side, where he got in behind Canadian rising star Alphonso Davies. Roberto’s curling cross nearly found its way to Suarez, but it was just out of his reach, and Manuel Neuer came off his line to clear it away.
Bayern then struck for the opener on its next time down into Barcelona’s end. Muller and Lewandowski worked a wonderful combination at the top of the box, with Muller firing home the opener from the edge of the area just into the fourth minute.
That was quick. Bayern Munich with the early lead on Barcelona! #UCL
(via @TUDNUSA) pic.twitter.com/jCKSWhU8oL
— Planet Fútbol (@si_soccer) August 14, 2020
That lead didn’t last long. Alba’s cross trying to pick out Suarez was inadvertently lobbed by Alaba into his own net, gifting Barcelona an equalizer and making it 1-1 after seven minutes.
Alba to Alaba and Barcelona is right back in it #UCL
(via @TUDNUSA) pic.twitter.com/67VJUgldER
— Planet Fútbol (@si_soccer) August 14, 2020
Barcelona nearly went ahead on two occasions in the next three minutes. First, Suarez had a run in behind met by the on-rushing Neuer, who saved his close-range chance, before Sergio Busquets hit the post on another opportunity.
¡El Barcelona avisa dos veces! 😱
Suárez estuvo cerca y luego Messi le pegó al palo. 😎@FCBarcelona_es 1-1 @FCBayernES #UCL | #Barcelona | #BayernMunich
🔴 En vivo
📺 TUDN | @unimas
📲 Síguelo aquí 👉 https://t.co/t3geJVP12U pic.twitter.com/el5X48edRh
— TUDN USA (@TUDNUSA) August 14, 2020
This result by far, is Barcelona’s worst defeat in the European competition this season and their trophy-less campaign since the 2007/08 season.
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