Booking a place in the champions league Semi-finals is one thing, how you do it is an entirely different ball game.
The UEFA Champions League quarter-final showdown between Bayern Munich and Barcelona was without doubt the most anticipated game at this stage of the competition.
And as momentum kept building up for the game, pre-match press conferences and interviews were flying around, but it what Barcelona’s Chilean midfielder, Arturo Vidal said a day before the game that got the most attention.
A confident Vidal had stepped up to send what can only pass as a warning to Bayern ahead of the game when he said,
“they have a lot of confidence but they’re not playing against a Bundesliga team on Friday, they’re up against Barcelona, the best team in the world,”
The German side who had little or nothing to say ahead of the game, let their football do the talking as they spent 90 minutes ensuring Vidal choked thoroughly on his words, while they reduced Barcelona to just another Bundesliga team in a very humbling 8-2 masscare!
Thomas Muller opened the scoring for Bayern in the 4th minute but Barcelona were gifted a quick equalizer three minutes after when David Alaba scored an own goal.
The Bavarians however got over the own goal in the 22nd minute when Ivan Perisic reclaimed the lead , 5 minutes later Serge Gnabry made it 3 for the Germans and Muller brought it up to 4 in the 31st minute.
After the break, striker, Luis Suarez gave Barcelona false hope when he reduced the deficit to 4-2
As far as goal scoring and being back in the game went last night, that was all Barcelona was going have, because the Bundesliga Champions were right back to business after that goal by Suarez’, finding the back of the net four more times. And to rub it all in, Barca’s record signing Philippe Coutinho who is currently on loan at Bayern, came on as a sub and in 10 minutes, scored two and set one up leading goalscorer, Lewandoski for one.
A very helpless Lionel Messi, who is arguably one of the greatest player of all time, could do absolutely nothing to shield his side from being so badly hampered last night. And if anything, Messi and his absolutely devastated and shattered teammates would very much want to forget the night they conceded eight goals in a match for the very first time since 1946.
Bayern are now the first team to score 8 goals in a Champions League knockout game..
Last night will forever be engraved in hearts of football lovers and while some have taken the defeat in good faith,
Others are having fun and heaping all the well deserved praise on Bayern
The winner of the game between Lyon Manchester City this night will face the ruthless Germans in the Semi-finals.
