Barcelona faced Bayern Munich at Camp Nou tonight, a re-run of the 8-2 defeat they suffered in Lisbon in the quarter-final of the 2019/20 Champions League . They’ve fallen on hard times as they embark on life post-Lionel Messi, but have shown green shoots this term. Also in their group are Benfica and Dynamo Kyiv.
Ronald Koeman started Marc-Andre ter Stegen in goal, behind a back three of Eric Garcia, Gerard Pique and Ronald Araujo, flanked by wing-backs Sergi Roberto and Jordi Alba. Sergio Busquets sat in midfield with Pedri and Frenkie de Jong either side of him, while Memphis Depay and Luuk de Jong led the line.
Barcelona fans, not exactly on the same page as UEFA, loudly whistled the Champions League anthem pre-game, and their team struggled to assert themselves on the game. Thomas Mueller put Bayern ahead in the 33rd minute before – surprise, surprise – the unstoppable Robert Lewandowski doubled their lead four minutes short of the hour mark.
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