Champions League SF: Bayern stun Barca 4-0

Bayern Munich's incredible season continued when they handed Barcelona one of their heaviest defeats for years, hammering the Catalans 4-0 in the first leg of their Champions League semifinal on Tuesday. Thomas Mueller headed the recently-crowned Bundesliga champions ahead in the 25th minute and Mario Gomez turned in the second goal amid suspicions of offside early in the second half. Arjen Robben added a third in the 73rd minute and Mueller then grabbed his second of the night as Barca collapsed dramatically in a game where Lionel Messi, returning from a hamstring injury, made little impact. In doing so, Bayern avenged their defeat by the same score in the quarter-finals four years ago. Robben nearly put Bayern ahead in the third minute after a clever backheel by Javi Martinez gave him a clear scoring chance but he shot straight at keeper Victor Valdes. Barca then put together some intricate passing moves although they rarely threatened to score and Bayern had the next chance when a goal-bound Philipp Lahm shot was blocked by defender Gerard Pique. Pique also appeared to handle when he cleared the resulting corner but the referee was not interested. It was not long before Bayern, who won the Bundesliga with six games to spare, went ahead with the help of an overhit corner by Franck Ribery. His effort found Robben on the other side of the penalty area and a rare right-footed cross from the Dutchman found Dante whose header fell for Mueller to stoop and score. Barca's most dangerous first-half effort was a low Pedro cross which Dante was lucky not to turn into his own net. Bayern extended their lead from another corner as Mueller at the back post headed back into the middle for Gomez to turn the ball in at close range after 49 minutes although he may have been fractionally offside. The Germans threatened another as shots from Mueller and Ribery flashed wide and then Robben headed wide from a free kick. Barca, often reduced to long balls forward, managed to impose some of their possession football but were vulnerable on the break. Robben exploited the gaps when he burst down the right for the third and, with Barca still reeling, Mueller blasted a David Alaba pass into the net for the fourth goal. The rout equalled Barca's worst ever defeat in European competition. FULL TIME Bayern Munich 4 Barcelona 0 Thomas Müller 25' Mario Gómez 49' Arjen Robben 73' Thomas Müller 82' YELLOW CARDS Bayern Munich 3 Barcelona 4 90" In the added 3 minutes the referee is kept on the toes but at the end of game it's Bayern who emerge on top with a convincing win over the Spanish giants. 89" Barcelona are clearly beaten in the defence by a determined Bayern and surge on as the clock ticks. 83" Quick substitutions by both teams.Muller and Gomez replaced by Luiz Gustavo and Pizarro while Barca replaces Pedro with Villa. 81" GOAL ! for Muller. Alaba slices the ball in the front of the post with Muller making contact to tap the ball safely into the net. 76" Bartra misses to slot in a Xavi freekick taken from the edge of the box. The floater landed promptly in front of the post but a slight delay and a mistimed shot over the bar fade Barca's hope. 73" GOAL ! Robben beats Alba in the defence with Muller blocking the threat. Alba makes no mistake to slice in the ball into the corner of the net. 69" Bartra misses to slot in a desperate show of strength near the post. 67" Bayern get ready for their substitution as Xavi and Messi work their way down Bayern defence. 65" Messi is trying to get involved as far as possible but it's obvious his magic has not worked as yet. 61" Lahm gets back to tackle Iniesta and Bayern win the throw . Robben runs into space, but his through ball for Franck Ribery is over-hit. 60" Alves and Bartra torment Dante and Boateng but the ball fails to cross the last line of the Bayern defence. 58" Barca attempt to break the German wall with Sanchez making a quick pass to Busquets a first time cross again to Alves but fails to keep the ball. 55" It's fantastic to watch Bayern deal with Barcelona. Robben cuts inside before offloading the ball to Ribery, whose left-foot shot flies wide of the far post. 49" GOAL ! Mario Gomez scores off a Robben corner neatly tapped by Muller to Gomez in front of Valdes who again is beaten hands down by the aggressive Germans. 46" YELLOW card for Martinez. Inesta the victim this time . HALF TIME 1-0 45" Barcelona fight strongly as the clocks races towards the half time mark,but Bayern looked pleased at the blow of the whistle with their slender lead intact. 44" Barcelona get a corner, and look to take the gloss off with Xavi sending a flighted shot which is well put away by the Bayern defence. 43" The ball is restricted to the midfield with both teams getting a fair share of the ball. 41" Barca desperate for the equaliser and push on but the Germans look determined to defend their slim lead. 39" YELLOW card for Bartra. Muller is brought down from behind while attempting