Barcelona failed in Monaco.

useless domain

Of course, the match between Bayern and Barcelona was presented not only as a battle between two great teams, but also as a confrontation between Robert Lewandowski and the club that made him a world star and a legendary scorer. In Barcelona the Pole showed he can score in different conditions. And he had to prove it in the Champions League match against Bayern. There was a misfire here.

In the first half, Barcelona significantly overtook the Munich side and put pressure on them. While the advantage in ball control wasn’t that obvious, sharp moments were created. Lewandowski’s accusation was particularly heartfelt. The Pole scored five shots in the first half, while Barcelona beat Bayern Munich 11-4, but only 2-1 on goal. The first half, one could say, was left to the Catalans in the game, but the zeros remained on the scoreboard.

He seized the moment

Bayern drew conclusions in the second half of the match, but Barcelona remained in the same game as before the break. It just didn’t work anymore. Monk “ate” the enemy more effectively, stopped him. Lewandowski himself only made two shots in the second half. In general, “Barcelona” was less acute. But we know that the main thing is the ability to use moments, and not their number.

And in this “Bayern” he overtook the enemy in magnificent style. One of these attributes is the standard provisions. In drawing a corner to serve Kimmich, Hernandez took off in exemplary fashion, which was ahead of both the defender and the goalkeeper. So the account was opened. No frills, no pressure – a pretty simple trick with a corner. And four minutes later it was all over for the Catalans. Already on the break. And if the corner showed the weakness of “Barcelona” in processing set pieces, then this attack indicated a weak positional defense and the speed of the defenders. A penetrating pass and a shot from Sane in the middle left everyone puzzled and Leroy had to throw the ball behind the keeper.

Some will say that Barcelona also had clear scoring chances, that is, Bayern’s defense was wavering. But in the end, after all, the Catalans did not manage to break through Neuer, but the Monaco team scored a brace against ter Stegen and is now a couple of steps away from the Champions League playoffs, however easy and without constraints.

Numbers

Kicks (kicks on goal): 13 (4) – 18 (4)

The “Barcelona” hit someone else’s goal more often, but the exact hits were evenly divided. Bayern acted more effectively in the end. Overall, a balance seems to have been found. According to the number of attacks, it is generally watermarked Uefa. They counted 41 attacks from Bayern and 40 from Barcelona. There is rarely such closeness. And Lewandowski turned out to be the hitter with seven attempts. And at least twice he has had to break through the gates of his former team. But no luck.

Ball possession (passing accuracy): 47% (84%) – 53% (87%)

Both teams have gone beyond the Guardiola era, when control of the ball was ensured. Now both Bayern and Barcelona love to do it, but the Catalans are even more so. This was also reflected in this match. Let the benefit be small. It correlates with better passing accuracy, which makes sense for teams looking to play the ball more reliably in the short term. Barcelona made 477 precise passes in this meeting and Bayern made 401. At the same time, both teams ran a lot, even by Champions League standards. Bayern have 119.5 kilometers and Barcelona 117.9 kilometers. Average Champions League – about 111 km.

And the others?

Perhaps the most unexpected result of the day came from Portugal, where Sporting undoubtedly beat Tottenham first, and then Porto lost a lot to Brugge. Lisbon snatches the victory from the Spurs, scoring a brace in the last three minutes of play. It may seem like an accident, but in reality, for most of the game, Sporting dominated, and these goals are the logical result of their pressure. More was expected from Antonio Conte of Tottenham.

Porto should always be at the top of the Champions League as Portugal’s top representative, while Club Brugge is usually perceived as a fighter for third place in the group, the top. But then the Belgians managed to do battle. And not only that – they beat Porto dry – with a score of 4: 0. It cannot be said that something has happened contrary to the logic of the game. Overall, the battle was even, but Brugge made better use of his chances.

In the same group, Atlético, not without surprises, lost to Bayer (0: 2). There was a goalless draw for a long time, but the Germans attacked more, even though they had less possession of the ball, hit the goal more often, hit the goal frame twice. And in the end, in three minutes after the match, they scored a brace, snatching the victory.

Eintracht and Inter’s away victories are much more banal. The Milanese beat Viktoria Pilsen 2-0. “Nerazzurri” dominates with strength and strength, pulls the opponent, who also plays in the minority after the 61st minute. Everything is logical here. And Eintracht defeated Marseille by a minimal margin, which already does not seem so obvious. But the Provençals stood out only for the senseless rolling of the ball, the riots of the fans and the irrelevant accuracy of the shots. The sausages were more successful.

Finally, the hard drama took place at Anfield, where Liverpool, bled to death by a mass of defeats, tried to break Ajax’s resistance. And nothing seemed a good omen for Jurgen Klopp’s team. Liverpool totally dominated, pressed, consistently hit on goal, created a lot of chances, even scored first. But he managed to lose it soon enough. And the score was evened out until the last minute, until Ajax still resisted this furious pressure, which ended with a goal from Matip, which gave Liverpool a well-deserved victory.