Bayern Munich thrash Barcelona in first meeting since 8-2

Bayern Munich opened their Group E campaign in the 2021/22 UEFA Champions League season with a 3-0 thrashing of FC Barcelona at the Nou Camp after a meek performance by the home side.

Meeting for the first time since their famous 2019/20 UEFA Champions League quarterfinal match in Lisbon that ended 8-2 to Bayern Munich, a weakened Messi-less FC Barcelona side was always the underdog, even if they were playing on their own patch in front of around 40,000 fans.

Both sides exchanged blows early on, with Barcelona looking to create an unlikely situation against Bayern Munich. The German champions eventually broke the deadlock through experienced attacker Thomas Muller. The German fired a shot from outside the box that deflected off Eric Garcia, wrong-footing goalkeeper Marc-Andre Ter Stegen before nestling in the bottom right corner in the 34th minute.

Bayern Munich were made to wait until the second half before they could double their lead in the 56th minute. Alphonso Davies’ shot was blocked and fell into the path of German teenager Jamal Musiala, whose own shot cannoned off the upright and onto the boot of Robert Lewandowski, who just had to poke the ball into an empty net to score in his 18th consecutive match.

Lewandowski rounded off the scoring for Bayern Munich against a deflated Barcelona side with a composed finish in the 85th minute. Kingsley Coman played a fine pass into the path of Serge Gnabry, whose shot came back off the upright and deflected into the path of Lewandowski, who left Gerard Pique on his backside after selling him a dummy before proceeding to strike the ball with his left foot into the back of the net.

Bayern Munich have claimed an early superiority in the group, leaving Barcelona at the bottom of the group after Dynamo Kiev and Benfica played out a goalless draw in the other group game. Barcelona failed to register a single shot in the match, and would be looking for improved performances in their next two matches.