As he walked down the tunnel to the Allianz Arena dressing rooms at half-time, Robert Lewandowski was right to be scratching his head and wondering why he hadn’t scored.
The BarcelonaThe striker was returning to the ground where he had spent many years scoring goals and suddenly forgot how to do it.
His expected goals number at the break in last night’s Champions LeagueThe outing was 0.54 higher than the total Bayern Munich side’s (0.32) in the first 45 minutes. The 34-year old finished with an xG score of 0.8 and seven shots against long-time friend Manuel Neuer. None of them were scored.
Lewandowski was the most inconsistent player in his short career with Barcelona. His performance was just too bad for a striker his caliber, who started the game with six goals and two assists. La Liga appearances.
Xavi, Barcelona coach, had difficulty understanding the logic.
“I don’t think Robert has felt the pressure (of the occasion), he is so experienced. It’s just been one of those days,” Xavi said. “We have not been clinical. There were at least three occasions when we had a goalkeeper in front of us, and we missed them all. That’s not normal. It happened the day it could not happen.”
Bayern gave Barcelona another Champions League reality test. Last night’s was the fifth consecutive European defeat for the Catalans against the Germans. Barcelona have never won at Allianz Arena. Leroy Sane had already ended the scoring in the second period. They had conceded 16 goals in total from the 30 shots Bayern had taken over the past four meetings.
But last night’s match felt different. This was not an ugly match.
“We were more effective than Barcelona,” Bayern coach Julian Nagelsmann said afterwards. Xavi took it a step further.
“I think we’ve been the better team in multiple departments. We’ve levelled Bayern at intensity, rhythm and physical capacity. We had a great first half. Our first half was excellent, but we missed many opportunities. You can’t afford this in the Champions League. This stadium makes me mad. We should have won. We had good feelings, but in the end it’s a loss. I’m sure we’ll learn, but it’s hard to take.”
The truth is there was not even a shadow of the Barcelona sides battered twice in last season’s group stage by the serial German champions. After one summer, and many economic levers being used to finance new signings in the club, Xavi had a team that dared to confront Bayern and make them sufer.
Last night, only two Barcelona players were left from the team that suffered the 8-2 trauma in the Champions League quarterfinals two years ago. Times are changing — and from a footballing point of view, there are glimpses of hope for the Camp Nou club and their worldwide army of fans.
Nobody has registered more shots in a first half at the Allianz Arena than Barcelona’s 10 last night since 2008. They held 53% possession and completed 79 more passes that the home team. Bayern had 13 goals, while Barcelona scored 18. Both teams had four goals on target.
10 – Barcelona have attempted 10 shots in the first half against Bayern, becoming the first away team to attempt 10+ shots in a first half at the Allianz Arena in the Champions League since Fiorentina in October 2008 (11). Unleashed. pic.twitter.com/aaHbD3sASn
— OptaJose (@OptaJose) September 13, 2022
Wasted chances will define Lewandowski’s first return to Munich, but when you rewatch the game, it does not take long to realise Barcelona wouldn’t have been dominant for several moments without him on the pitch.
Five minutes in, the £40million signing led the counter-press that produced the first big chance of the night, spared by an immense Neuer save after Pedri’s shot. Raphinha, a Pole newcomer, was set up for a shot that went slightly wider minutes later.
Marcos Alonso and Andreas Christensen, Barcelona’s defenders, launched desperate clearances that flew so high that the football may have returned to Earth covered in snow. Lewandowski was not concerned. Lewandowski simply slowed them down, but Barcelona retained the possession. In the second half, the No 9 also connected with Pedri, only for the 19 year-old to make the final touch.
All this occurred on a Bad day.
Lewandowski’s range of weapons is endless and that variety is what Xavi needs. Lewandowski is not only the scorer but also the provider and source of trouble. He made 20 passes and missed six. This is a 77% accuracy.
Nagelsmann deserves some credit, too.
The German announced before the game he would snub £58million summer signing Matthijs de Ligt to put Dayot Upamecano up against Lewandowski, a Bayern team-mate last season.
“Upamecano can defend Lewandowski better because of the time they spent together at Bayern. He knows what it is like to play against Lewandowski because he did it (from 2017-21). RB Leipzig,” Nagelsmann said.
He was, indeed, a rock last evening. He won all of the tackles that he tried, had six clearances and five interceptions. He also won three ground duels from four and two aerial duels from three.
“Lewandowski played a good game,” Nagelsmann said.”He didn’t score, which was good for us. We could see how dangerous Lewandowski is in the first period. I think we improved defending him as a team in the second half.”
Bayern only needed five minutes to end the first half. Lucas Hernandez’s header — not a good look for marker Alonso in what was his first start since leaving Chelsea — started the party.
The Catalans faded away for four minutes, and when they woke up the genius of Jamal Musiala — the best Bayern player on the pitch — was running past Sergio Busquets to serve up the second for Sane.
Barcelona was reminded that the Champions League is not without its risks, and Bayern knows this better than the young team Xavi has assembled.
“It’s not enough. If I say that we must compete better, it means to compete in a corner. Or in a transition back to defence. Or being clinical. You must make every effort to get in front of the goal.
“We have played nice, yeah, but two small details make us lose a game that was tipped for us to prove we could make a step forward,” concluded Xavi on the night where Lewandowski’s wastefulness cost them a game, but he also brought them closer to rejoining the European elite.
(Photo: Adam Pretty/Getty Images)
