Bayern Munich overturned their 2 goal deficit to win 6-1 at the Allianz Arena, scoring 5 goals in the 1st half. Barcelona welcomed PSG to the Camp Nou and sent their visitors home crying with Neymar hitting a brace.
Bayern ensured that the shock defeat in the 1st leg was nothing more than a bad day at the office, annihilating their Portuguese opponents. Porto were looking fidgety from the word go and another upset was off the cards almost immediately as Bayern dominated the game. And inevitably, Thiago opened the scoring with a sublime header. Gotze held on to a ball at the far-left and laid it to Bernat to scoop in a beautiful cross and the 1st leg scorer met the ball emphatically, to reduce the deficit to one goal. In the 22nd minute, Badstuber rose high to head the ball to fellow centre-back Boateng who squeezed his header past Fabiano to put Bayern through on away goals. The atmosphere in the Allianz Arena was tremendous and Porto were in all sorts of trouble.
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The party continued and in the 26th minute Lewandowski finished off a training ground move, when an exquisite pass into the box by a marauding Philipp Lahm was dinked over by Muller and the Pole put the tie beyond all doubt with a thumping header from 12 yards out. Undoubtedly, one of the best team-goals of the season. Porto’s evening got even worse when Muller’s seemingly harmless shot from 25 yards was deflected by Martins Indi and the wildly spinning ball found a way through Fabiano’s bumbling legs. 35 minutes gone and 4-0 down, Julen Lopetegui was helpless as he saw his team being elegantly kicked out of the Champions League. 5 minutes later, Lewandowski got his second, when Muller muscled past Marcano to supply the Polish striker, who took two touches before smashing the ball between the legs of Maicon and into the back of the net. Badstuber was lucky to be on the pitch after an ugly two-footed tackle on Quaresma and with nothing going their way, Porto were desperate for the half-time whistle.
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Bayern started the second-half in dominating fashion but were seemingly relaxed as they passed the ball around in search for space. Bayern were almost disinterested and in the 73rd minute, Jackson Martinez caught the German defence sleeping, when he headed in Evandro’s cross from close range. Two goals would have done it for Portuguese outfit as they threatened the Germans but were lacking finesse and clarity. In the 87th minute, Marcano was sent off for an awkward challenge and Xabi Alonso’s resulting free-kick from 25 yards was gracefully executed to make it 7-4 on aggregate. Bayern deserved to proceed to the semifinals against a side clueless Porto side who decided to turn up only after 70 minutes.
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Neymar was at the double with two fine goals in a relatively easy win for the La Liga toppers. Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Marco Verratti returned for the Parisians after suspension in hope of overturning a 2-goal deficit. Barcelona pressed high from the very first minute and David Luiz was booked after a lunging tackle of Rakitic after losing the ball. In the 14th minute, Andres Iniesta picked the ball in his own half and strolled past a few half-hearted challenges as he rolled the ball to Neymar just outside the box, who skipped around Sirigu to make it 1-0 for his side. Zlatan was denied a goal on return to his former employers by the offside flag in the 19th minute. PSG were clearly rattled by the high pressing by their hosts and were losing balls in their own half, to the annoyance of Laurent Blanc. Neymar got his second in the 33rd minute when he met Dani Alves’ left-footed cross with a precise header into the bottom-corner. The marking was horrible as Luiz and Marquinhos let their countryman sneak in between them.
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In the second-half PSG gave Barcelona a taste of their own medicine, pressing high up the field and Marco Verratti missed a glorious chance in the box to reduce the deficit and give his side a glimmer of hope. It was a dogged affair with both sides fighting over the ball but surprisingly only half-chances were created. In the end it was an easy affair for Luis Enrique’s men as their French opponents rarely tested the Barcelona defence, strolling to the semifinals 5-1 on aggregate.
Tags: Barcelona Bayern Munich
