Many things in life are fleeting. Happiness, success, life itself. Up until today, I would have thought success over Barcelona was one of those fleeting situations in life. I was wrong. While it is true that the referee of the show-down between Bayern Munich and Barcelona was garbage, Barca's defensive deficiencies were painstakingly obvious, and Bayern's home field advantage was tremendously helpful, a 4-0 result was beyond my expectations. Yes, I might have predicted Bayern to win at home, but the manner in which they put Barcelona out of the game was almost laughable. Despite the fact that the Catalan side had over 60% of possession, they only had 4 real chances. While it is true that the Spaniards suffered almost 20 fouls through-out the match (compared to 10 for the Germans) the Bavarians only collected 3 yellows to Barcelona's 4. The blame lies with the visitors though as it was obvious where Barcelona failed most defending corners of which they gave Bayern 11! Despite a rather spiteful dying minutes, Thomas Muller's 25th minute shot opening the scoring got the game off to an exciting pace. When Mario Gomez scored 4 minutes into the 2nd half, Barca's keeper Victor Valdes earned a healthy plate of criticism. It is true, he wasn't helped by his defenders (particularly Jordi Alba who looked out-classed for most of the game in comparison to Muller) but some of the goals he allowed were approaching comical. In the 73rd minute, Arjen Robben's strike was utterly farcical. Utilizing a hybrid basketball-American football move, Robben's marker Jordi Alba was left in the dust by a fellow Bavarian attacked granting the Dutch player a golden opportunity which he took with great relish. Last but certainly not least, Thomas Muller's goal in the 82nd minute was the last cry of a dying side as Barcelona's defense fell completely apart allowing the striker to punch in his second on the night. While Bayern deserve a lot of credit for the way that they conducted the match - specifically the 1st half - there were a number of calls that favored them shall we say. If Barca let this result get to their head, expect a replay of this match in the 2nd leg. While I don't think they will overturn the result, they will at least present more of a threat at home giving the aggregate score a somewhat decent image. That will only be possible, though, if their defensive players actually show up and Valdes actually makes some saves.
As for tomorrow's match between Dortmund and Real Madrid, I cannot see the German side dominate as their compatriots did today. While being at home will certainly help them and the addition to the side of Robert Lewandowski, Sebastian Kehl, and Sven Bender only bodes well for the Germans, not even their recent home record gives them enough of an edge against the giants of Madrid. Having said that, if Michael Essien, Fabio Coentrao, Alvaro Arbeloa, Luka Modric, Angel Di Maria, and Marcelo are all gone, Madrid may just be stretched too far. I think Madrid may have enough to edge the Germans but I could also see the match ending in a draw. If Dortmund are particularly on form on the night though, Madrid may not be able to keep up. Away goals, however, will spell doom for the German side in the end. Hope you are enjoying the matches!
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