The Catalans had countless opportunities in the first half, they left Bayern alive and the Germans crushed them in the second half
The debate is on the table: he has turned the Barca? Some recount the culé performance at the Allianz Arena, especially in the first half, as a moral victory. Others, however, believe that Xavi’s castle collapsed like one of cards at first blow that Bayern dropped to the chin and that led to a second half where they could be beaten.
The fact is that Barça finished off 10 times in the first half against Bayerm, becoming the first away team to attempt as many shots in a first half at the Allianz Arena in the Champions League since Fiorentina in October 2008 (11). The people of Munich have not known defeat in the Champions League in their fiefdom since 2014 and it was against Madrid who would later be Champions of the Champions League.
Gavi was the beacon of the culé team in that dreamy first part in which many point to a Lewandowski. The culé pearl generated four chances in this first half against Bayern, which is his best mark in a full game with Barcelona in all competitions, counting that he has 54 games in the Barça shirt.
It is true, however, that the Barça balance continues to be disastrous against Bayern in the Champions League in recent years. Barcelona have conceded 16 goals in that time with the last 30 shots on goal that he has received from the Bavarian team in the Champions League having scored only two goals.
Nagelsmann’s team, with their 2-0 win, equals the best run of consecutive games without losing in the Champions League group stage (30), which Real Madrid established between 2012 and 2017. Tottenham cut that streak for the Whites with a resounding 3-1 win.
The Barça did the homework
Bayern had to sweat like never before to contain a rival that gained key statistics such as possession, number of arrivals or completed passes. The German team ran 119.5 kilometers in this match against Barça’s 117.9. The Catalans established their highest mark of the season in distance covered.
The general feeling is that the german team is not as unapproachable as before and that Barça will have options to do something else at the Camp Nou in a key game. Lewandowski, after his hat-trick against Plzenadded one of his worst performances as a Barça player after not being able to make any of his seven attempted shots.
Bayern thus added their fifth consecutive victory against the culé team, who saw themselves with the option of winning in a scenario that would have confirmed them as candidates for the title. Now they will play everything for everything in their double confrontation with Inter Milan and, if it goes wrong, it could send them to the Europa League for another year.