Champions League: Messi missing as Bayern humiliate Barcelona 3-0

Bayern Munich completed an unprecedented 7-0 triumph against Barcelona with a 3-0 win in the Champions League second leg at Nou Camp on Wednesday night.

The newly-crowned Bundesliga champions had effectively killed off the tie with last week's 4-0 victory in Germany and there was no way back for the Spaniards when Arjen Robben blasted the ball past Victor Valdes in the 49th minute.

Barca's humiliation was completed late in the game when Gerard Pique skewed the ball into his own net and Thomas Mueller, who scored twice in last week's first leg, nodded Bayern's third.

Barca, like Bayern chasing a fifth European crown, were deprived of the talents of Lionel Messi, who is coming back from a hamstring injury and was left on the bench, and without the talismanic World Player of the Year they barely threatened.

This is the biggest semi-final win in Champions League history.

It's an all-German final at Wembley on May 25 as Bayern reached their third final in four years.

Dortmund triumphed 4-3 on aggregate over Real Madrid despite losing the second leg 2-0.

This is Barça's biggest aggregate loss in Europe.

Before this match-up with Bayern their biggest aggregate loss was by 4 goals.

Former England star Michael Owen has tweeted: "Wow. A power shift in the footballing world and my pre tournament bet on Bayern at 12-1 is looking good!" ‏(@themichaelowen)

Barça lose by a 3-goal margin at home for the first time in Europe since their 4-0 defeat against Dinamo Kiev in November 1997.

"We played an outstanding game but there is a difference of Barca with and without Messi. But it is a result one could not forecast," Bayern coach Jupp Heynckes told ZDF television.

"I know the philsophy of Barcelona and my team understood extremely well how to deploy our tactics. It was harder than it looked. My team was very focused... we knew what we were up against."

Barcelona defender Gerard Pique said: "This is one of our worst nights. The truth is that it isn't pleasant living through a situation like this. In the first half we really tried but when they scored the first we were left feeling down. We have to congratulate Bayern who were superior."

Bayern Munich winger Arjen Robben said: "To perform like this, playing against a team that has dominated Europe over the last five years with so much quality in their squad, if we win 4-0 and 3-0 away, especially the 3-0 here, it is amazing."

Cesc Fabregas was initially deployed in Messi's roving forward role in a three-pronged attack with Spain team mates Pedro and David Villa.

Bayern were first to threaten when Robben burst clear on the left in the 13th minute but the Dutch winger was denied by a fine covering tackle from Pique.

The Spain centre back made another excellent intervention to nip the ball away from Philipp Lahm six minutes later before Manuel Neuer had to be alert to tip a long-range Pedro effort over the crossbar and Xavi volleyed high and wide when well placed.

As the half wore on and Bayern looked increasingly comfortable against Barca's toothless attacks, their boisterous fans high up in the stadium began to make themselves heard on a balmy night in the Catalan capital.

The home crowd were silenced two minutes later when David Alaba sprayed the ball across to Robben on the right wing and he cut inside Adriano before crashing a left-foot drive past Valdes.

Barca now needed six goals to get through and any fans looking towards the bench to see if Messi was warming up were disappointed.

The Germans began to stroke the ball around in the style Barca have made their own in recent years, each pass being greeted with an "Ole!" from their travelling support.

Barca huffed and puffed for a goal to salvage some pride but Pique's own goal and Mueller's back-post header completed a miserable night.

Bayern will be appearing in the final for the third time in four seasons after defeats to Inter Milan in 2010 and Chelsea last season and are on course for a treble of Champions League, Bundesliga and German Cup.

Their success at the Nou Camp may help them banish the painful memory of losing a dramatic Champions League final there against Manchester United in 1999, when the English Premier struck twice late on for a 2-1 comeback triumph.

Barca should wrap up the La Liga title in the next couple of weeks but a domestic league title is scant reward for a team which has set a new standard for European club football in recent years.

FULL TIME

Barcelona 0 Bayern Munich 3

(Aggregate: Barca 0 Bayern 7)

GOALS

48" Robben, 72" Pique (OG), 76" Mueller

YELLOW CARDS

Barcelona

Dani Alves, Gerard Pique

Bayern Munich

Arjen Robben

90" Ribery and Mueller surge forward looking for number four before the referee blows the final whistle a minute later to end Barcelona's misery.

88" Bayern substitute Rafinha slices his shot wide.

87" SUBSTITUTION Montoya replaces Bartra.

86" Villa curls a tame shot straight to Neuer

82" Barta heads wide from a rare attack for the hosts.

Gary Lineker, Match of the Day presenter and former Barcelona striker has tweeted: "We're witnessing the beginning of the end of an era for Barca, and the end of the beginning of an era for Bayern."

79" Robben's free-kick into the box is headed into the air by Pique

78" YELLOW Pique picks up a booking for a sliding tackle on Mueller

SUBSTITUTION Lahm makes way for Rafinha.

76" GOAL! Thomas Mueller rises to head home.

Ribery gallops past Alex Song and his cross is Mueller pops up with a header into the net.

SUBSTITUTION Bayern replace Martinez with Tymoschuk

74" Barca get best chance as David Villa escapes from his marker and flicks a header against the near post following a cross from Alves.

72" GOAL! Gerard Pique scores an own goal attemting to clear a volley from Ribery.

Robben starts the move as he passes inside to Luis Gustavo, who perfectly  times his release to Franck Ribery down the left.

71" Pedro scuffs his shot from the edge of the area straight at Neuer.

SUBSTITUTION Luiz Gustavo replaces Bastian Schweinsteiger.

SUBSTITUTION Thiago Alcantara replaces Andres Iniesta

63" Pedro's cross headed clear by Alaba with Iniesta blocked by Van Buyten

64" Sanchez steals the ball from a defensive error but shoots into the side netting.

61" Mandzukic and Lahm combine to tee up Mueller, but his shot is blocked.

58" Mueller runs into heavy traffic after going through on his own.

55" Bayern go close again but Robben steers a volley wide when well placed.

SUBSTITUTION Alexis Sanchez replacing Xavi.

54" Late tackle from Iniesta sends Mueller crashing on halfway.

52" Villa goes for goal again from 25 yards but slices it wide of the target.

49" GOAL! Robben scores with his left foot into the top left corner of the net.

David Alaba sweeps a crossfield to find Robben in space. The Dutchman curls home from just inside the box after being allowed to cut inside.

48" Bayern get a free kick on the right which is curled into the box and gathered by Valdes.

46" Barcelona restart needing four goals in 45 minutes to overturn Bayern's advantage but there is no sign of Messi.

Barcelona have been kept at bay by Bayern with Messi kicking his heels on the bench.

Bayern's Neur has been the busier of the two with Pedro having the best chance for Barcelona.

HALF TIME

YELLOW! for Dani Alves

44" Schweinsteiger wins a free-kick in midfield for Bayern after a clash with Alves. Both players need treatment.

41" A cross from Alves is easily taken by Neuer.

40" Adriano's right footed shot from outside the box is hit straight at Neuer.

39" Dani Alves can't find a way past Bayern traffic.

35" Robben leads a Bayern counter, but his shot is blocked by Song.

34" Iniesta left-footed shot from outside the box is blocked.

32" YELLOW! Robben gets a yellow for a foul on Song

28" Robben works his way into a good position on the right, but his cross is weak and Pique clears.

27" Xavi volleys over the bar with a left-footed short from the middle of the Bayern box

24" Neuer has to tip Pedro's long-range strike over the bar but the Barca corner comes to nothing.

20" Fabregas jinks into the Bayern penalty area before being dispossessed

19" Schweinsteiger tees up Lahm, but is denied by some desperate Barca defending

16" Robben tries a through ball but Mandzukic is caught offside.

15" Dani Alves crosses for Villa but it's just out of the forward's reach.

12" Robben fails to shoot on target after being put clear by Bastian Schweinsteiger thanks to fantastic tackle from Pique.

10" Marc Bartra's header from the centre of the box is high and wide to the right.

8" Philipp Lahm's left footed shot from outside the box is blocked.

9" Villa's backheel fails to come off and Van Buyten clears.

6" Pedro looks to break down the left for Barca but over-runs the ball.

"It's clearly not working for Barca. Bring on Messi!" tweets Gary Lineker, BBC Sport.

4" Barcelona lucky to escape after Robben and Mueller combine to play in Mandzukic, but Dani Alves gets across.

3" Robben wins a free kick in their own half

1" Mario Mandzukic tries a through ball, but Thomas Müller is caught offside.

KICK OFF Bayern kick off the second leg and go on the offensive immediately but are caught in the offside trap.

Former Barcelona striker and Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker has tweered: "Pains me to say this but sense another Bayern victory tonight."

Indeed Barcelona seem to have given up hopes of overturning a 4-0 deficit by keeping Messi on the bench.

Swansea striker Michu begs to differ tweeting: "No Messi, no party? We'll see..."

Barcelona forward Lionel Messi was left out of the starting lineup for Wednesday's Champions League semi-final second leg at home to Bayern Munich, the La Liga club said.

The Argentine World Player of the Year suffered a hamstring strain last month and will start on the bench as Barca seek to overturn a 4-0 deficit from last week's first leg in Munich.

Messi's place in the side was taken by Cesc Fabregas, who will play in the roving forward role in a three-pronged attack with Spain team mates David Villa and Pedro.

PLAYING XI

Barcelona: Valdes, Dani Alves, Pique, Bartra, Adriano, Xavi, Song, Iniesta, Villa, Fabregas, Pedro

Bayern: Neuer, Lahm, Boateng, Van Buyten, Alaba, Javi Martinez, Schweinsteiger, Robben, Muller, Ribery, Mandzukic.

PROBABLE FORMATION

Barcelona 4-3-3

Bayern Munich 4-2-3-1

TEAM NEWS

Barcelona

Jordi Alba is suspended having picked up his third yellow card of the tournament in the reverse fixture, and he is likely to be replaced by Adriano, who returns from a ban.

Cesc Fabregas, David Villa, Alexis Sanchez and Pedro compete for two places in the starting XI.

Bayern Munich

Mario Mandzukic is back available following a suspension and he will compete for the lone striker position with Mario Gomez, who scored in the reverse fixture last week.

As many as six Bayern players are one booking away from missing the final at Wembley, with some key players amongst them (Lahm, Schweinsteiger, Martinez, Dante, Gomez and Gustavo).

STAT ATTACK

Barcelona have only won one of seven meetings with Bayern Munich in the past - but they did win that one 4-0 in 2009.

Only three teams have recovered from a four-goal setback in European competition history.

Partizan Belgrade came back from 6-2 down against QPR to draw 6-6 on aggregate in the 1984-85 Uefa Cup.

Real Madrid were 5-1 down in the first leg of their third-round Uefa Cup tie with Borussia Moenchengladbach in 1985-86 but won 4-0 in the second leg.

And in the 1960-61 Cup Winners' Cup, Portuguese side Leixos lost 6-2 to Swiss team Chaux de Fonds, yet registered a 5-0 win at home.

Bayern have lost three semifinal matches in the Champions League.

This is a record sixth successive semifinal for FCBarcelona.

Bayern have kept a clean sheet in their last 3 matches in the Champions League (including qualifiers).

Bayern have won 5 of their last 6 matches in the Champions League (including qualifiers).

Bayern have scored at least 2 goals in 5 of their last 6 matches in the Champions League (including qualifiers).

Barcelona need to score at least 4 goals against a side that have conceded just twice in their last four Champions League away games and only 3 times on the road all season in the Bundesliga.

No side have ever overturned a 4-0 deficit in the knockout stages of the Champions League and Barcelona struggled to carve out chances in the first leg.

 

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