Bayern Munich Meets Barcelona in the Champions League Quarterfinals

Bayern Munich slashed Chelsea, while Barcelona routinely beat Napoli to reach the quarterfinals of the Champions League. These two sides will clash next Friday to determine who will advance to the semis of the elite soccer competition in Europe. 

Bayern Once Again Slams Blues

We haven’t seen Chelsea helpless against one team like they were against Bayern in ages. The German powerhouse wiped Lampard’s side with 4-1, progressing to the quarterfinals with a total result of 7-1. 

“I’m very pleased. We wanted to win, we wanted to pick up where we left off and that’s exactly what the players did,” said Hansi Flick, Bayern’s head coach.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnWNEv3_Oyw

Many believe that Chelsea might play better tonight than in the first event, because of their competitive rhythm. The Blues finished the season recently, while on the other side, Bayern did that more than a month ago.

When the game started, the guests from London were the ones looking pale and exhausted. The Bavarians quickly rolled over them, scoring two goals in 24 minutes, to kill the morale of the rivals and prevent any surprises. 

Lewandowski netted the first one from the penalty in the 10th minute, and Ivan Perisic doubled the edge 14 minutes later with the Polish striker assisting the winger. 

Tammy Abraham scored for Chelsea one minute before the halftime, indicating that his team might wake up and play a decent match. Yet, that didn’t happen.

Bayern was all over the pitch in the second half, not allowing the guests to feel comfortable at all, pressuring them constantly, and eventually adding two more hits. 

Corentin Tolisso and Lewandowski put their name on the scoresheet, sealing hosts’ victory.

Barcelona’s Easy Job Against Napoli

Blaugrana bounced back after all the problems experienced over the last few weeks. The atmosphere, Messi’s contract negotiations, and of course, loss of the title, which was practically in their hands. 

All this heavily influenced Barcelona’s players and fans, and there were some doubts about their capabilities before this match. However, a 3-1 win was the best possible thing which could happen to them at this moment. 

All four goals took place in the opening half, one by Lenglet, Messi, and Suarez, and for Napoli by Insigne.  The latter two were after penalties in the stoppage time, caused by reckless reactions of the defenders. Also, we need to point out that Barca’s first goal might be illegal, because Suarez pushed away one of Napoli’s defenders. Even though the referee and the VAR room didn’t sanction that as a foul, some don’t agree with this call. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uevMXF6SNWc

The second half wasn’t that interesting because Barcelona intentionally killed the tempo and wanted to slow down the pace in order to protect its lead easier. 

“In the second half, we knew they’d try and pressure us, but the way we ‘managed’ the match was very positive,” said Luis Suarez.

Bayern and Barcelona meet in the quarterfinals, next Friday at Estadio La Luz in Lisboa, which means that there isn’t too much time for preparations. 

“Against Bayern in a one-off game, anything is possible. They are one of the candidates to win this, but so are we,” Suarez added.

A fun fact linked with these two sides is that each time they meet in the knockout stage, the winner of that matchup ends up winning the competition.