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Champions League: Bayern Munich 3, Lyon 0
Serge Gnabry scored two goals and Robert Lewandowski added when Bayern Munich won 3-0. The German champions will face Paris Saint-Germain by name on Sunday.
By Rory Smith
Bayern Munich’s numbers, Lyon coach Rudi Garcia said, were so intimidating that it was better to forget about them. Undefees since the beginning of December. No fault, with less than one lost point, in 19 consecutive games. The score points to a frightening pace.
“If you just take a look at the statistics,” Garcia said before Lyon faced Bayern in the Champions League semi-final on Wednesday night in Lisbon, “you’ll also watch the game at the hotel.”
Lyon could not stop Bayern’s big red device from reaching their first Champions League final since winning in 2013. Two purposes of Serge Gnabry, the first a trembling end from the edge of the penalty area, the moment when a disjointed tap-in, well resolved the match before half-time. Robert Lewandowski, scoring his 55th goal of the season and his 15th in the Champions League this season, added a third with a header in the 88th minute.
However, Lyon is not a passive observer of the discussions. It was not a comfortable capitulation, as RB Leipzig’s defeat to Paris Saint-Germain by the same score on Tuesday night Array Twice Lyon took the lead before Gnabry opened the scoring. In the middle of the moment, when the maximum would have thought of his luck, Lyon kept moving forward, looking for the lucky component that might have brought his players a lifeline.
In fact, the PSG will have noticed enough of Lyon to make Bayern more vulnerable in Sunday’s final than Wednesday’s final score suggests: Kylian Mbappé’s speed, Neymar’s task and Angel Di Maria’s effort deserve to be upturned at Bayern’s defensive line. who struggled to involve Karl Toko Ekambi and Memphis Depay.
The challenge for P.S.G. and to all, that’s what Bayern propose at the other end of the field. Lewandowski is the biggest threat, but the German champion is plagued by threats at all levels. Gnabry the star on Wednesday, his metheric career and formidable end broke the hearts of Lyon after a brilliant start. But there have been worthy contributions from Lewandowski, who scored in his 10th consecutive Champions League match, and now only two goals of Cristiano Ronaldo’s 17 record on a single crusade, but also from Leon Goretzka, Alphonso Davies and Thiago Alcantara.
The joy in which Bayern coach Hansi Flick can turn can, can also be an advantage. Bayern have four survivors of their victory over Borussia Dortmund in the 2013 final, with Manuel Neuer, Thomas Muller, Jerome Boateng and David Alaba. Five, in fact, if we get to Lewandowski, that with the yellow and the black of Dortmund that night.
P.S.G., of course, has never reached the final before this season, although many of its players have. Di María won the tournament in 2014 with Real Madrid and Neymar lifted the trophy a year later with Barcelona. They and Mbappé do not plan to be passive observers and want them to have a much higher result than Lyon.
Rory Smith and Andrew Das of The Times watched the game live. To watch the game as it happened, read on:
FULL-TIME
Another general victory for the German champions, who have forgotten to lose. Two goals from Serge Gnabry and one by Robert Lewandowski gave them 11 goals in two games in Lisbon.
But more importantly, they get a P.S.G. On Sunday and to win the club’s sixth Champions League title.
88 ‘
It’s as undeniable as the first one. A loose kick was deep and close to the baseline to the left of Lopes. A gentle service in the middle, and Lewandowski gets up to receive him and nods. It’s 3-0 for Bayern.
Game, set, match. See you Sunday, P.S.G.
Lewandowski has scored 15 Goals in the Champions League this season, even without the games back here in Portugal, which puts him within the success of Cristiano Ronaldo’s 17 record in a single campaign.
79 ‘
Two minutes after sending a roller shot right next to it, Coutinho tue the ball in the bottom of the net. However, there is a moment of confusion and no celebration, because the referee explains why there is no goal.
It turns out that, while Coutinho was in play highlighting the defense behind the center at the penalty point, Goretzka seemed to touch the ball as he passed. That touch without delay caused Coutinho, now the last defender, offside. No target.
75 ‘
A memorable day for Gnabry, 25: two goals in the Champions League semi-finals. He trot and is replaced by Philippe Coutinho. Just reminder of the shame of wealth that is Bayern’s bench.
58 »
Dembélé, who scored twice on the bench in the quarter-final win over Manchester City, is sent, probably with orders to prove that he does the same. Memphis Depay makes way. It is the same submarine that took the opposite position to City, and after Depay’s first golden opportunity, it is not a major factor. Maybe your repositioning is better.
He does it almost immediately, because Ekambi tests Neuer. But the bounce is controlled through the goalkeeper and the danger disappears as quickly as it was created.
46 ‘
Boateng, who will be the maximum required in the last opposite of the P.S.G., leaves and enters Niklas S-le. The German observation on the adjustment indicates that it was not an expected change, but suggests that it would possibly be more a matter of resting him for the last than an injury.
Through Lyon, Thiago Mendes enters the center of the countryside by Guimaraes. Maybe I can do what Guimaraes couldn’t.
Middle
Rory Smith records at half-time:
Lyon, at least, can be comforted by having given more account of his talent than the RB Leipzig on Tuesday night. However, just a little comfort, because the result is the same.
There is a trend that arises from those semi-finals, obvious, actually, but still: clubs whose prestige dictates that they will have to build on the progression and sale of young players who cannot face, face to face, head to toe. ground, with groups that ultimately gain advantages from the progression of those players.
Bayern have an alumni of Lyon’s academy, Corentin Tolisso, on the bench. He’s on the bench because he’s not smart enough to start with, because being among Lyon’s players is only enough to be one of Bayern’s many players. It’s not that simple, of course, but as a representation it is.
In this context, Lyon did well to turn it into a game, forcing two smart occasions before Serge Gnabry’s first goal and threatening before the second. That would possibly be all you can hope to achieve, however, realistically. Bayern is one of Europe’s predators. Lyon has long been a dam. It’s the balance of their relationship and that’s the dynamics of the game.
Middle
Bayern returned to the area with a 2-0 lead. That’s 10 goals in two games in Lisbon.
Lyon? They wonder what hit them. (Hint: it is more common than Serge Gnabry.)
38 ‘
Gnabry with an appetizing center from the right, the left post fails by a short time. It’s possible that Lewandowski just returned it with a single touch, and kicks himself to, well, hit the ball. Ups!
33 ‘
Gnabry gets his purpose for the moment in a much less just purpose, pushing a loose ball into the mouth of the purpose after Lopes, without risking it backwards, hit Lewandowski’s failed shot to quell the attempt. Unfortunately, he didn’t run the ball, and Gnabry hit there first and jumped.
Gnabry started this, with a borrowed scouse in midfield. Working in the middle, he fed Perisic, who deftly drove a ground center from the left. The crash created the rebound, and that’s it: 2-0 Bayern. Like this.
31 ‘
Burned by his defense in Gnabry’s goal, Lopes reassert himself a little. Scream more. Gestures. And he simply cleaned Up Lewandowski, enough, but crudely, on the way to a 50/50 ball. Prevention is more important than cure.
18 ‘
He seemed much less difficult than he was. Gnabry hunchs a long loop pass effortlessly on the right wing and, feeling the area inside, bursts. A few taps give it an opening, and just as the ball rolls over the most sensitive of the penalty area, it makes a left shot. Standing shot – among FIVE defenders – screaming in front of Lopes in the upper left corner. Sensational. Great goal, and Bayern lead, 1-0.
It shows how quickly Bayern can burn it; less than a minute after a ball reached Neuer’s pole and a long ball made to allow them to recover.
Instead, Gnabry scores a rocket and Bayern lead.
17 ‘
He first made Alphonso Davies the firm. Then, drawing the ball on his left foot, his torn shot hits Neuer on the post and carambola. Wonderful game. No reward.
11 ‘
A glorious touch of Lewandowski, Bayern’s target man, allowed Goretzka to sneak in from the right. But he breathes in his shot, slightly touching the ball and rolls safely towards the goal.
Harmlessly, that is, until Lopes realizes that he can simply sneak inside the left post and throw himself to push him into a corner.
6 ‘
A big mistake from Bayern, the nuances of Barcelona, when a midfielder ball divides the centre-backs and pushes Memphis Depay straight into the middle, leaving the central circle. But Depay needs too many touches to get around the huge Neuer and sends his shot to the right net.
Huge early there.
3 ‘
The differences suit the Bundesliga champions, so they tried unsuccessfully to stretch Lyon wide and look through appearance in the first few minutes. But Rudi Garcia is no fool and Lyon is not afraid. It is quite imaginable that they have noticed the barcelona tape and know what happens if you do.
It’s only been a few months since Jean-Michel Aulas said all this would be absolutely impossible. The French football government had declared the end of the Ligue 1 season, with 10 games remaining, against the coronavirus pandemic, and Aulas, the owner and president of Olympique Lyonnais, simmered.
Cancellation would not only charge French clubs revenue, time and players, Aulas said, but would not only deprive his team of the opportunity to occupy his position, but he was seventh in the standings when the season stopped, meaning he faces the prospect of a european first season out of competition in more than a decade , but that would halt the attempts of the two French representatives of the Champions League.
The theory of Classrooms is simple, and widespread: Lyon and Paris Saint-Germain, the two French ensembles still alive in the circular of 16, would return to the Cold Champions League, weakened by the rust of the ring, in the face of matches in full color of the season. “In August, we’ll meet groups in those competitions that have been more prepared than we have,” he said in the spring.
Tuesday night, P.S.G. it has become the first French team to succeed in a Champions League final since Monaco in 2004. On Wednesday, Lyon can sign for their wonderful rival, there is bayern Munich’s rather intimidating bulwark, new to an 8-2 win over Barcelona – status along the way. Never a man who would allow the facts to obstruct his opinion, warned Aulas, after P.S.G. United to eliminate Atalanta and Lyon surprised Manchester City in the quarter-finals, which a “little luck” had erased the competitive disadvantage suffered by the French ensembles.
Lyon will want it to be held tonight. Bayern have been in the fore-level run-up to European football – since Hansi Flick took over in November, in fact – which culminated in this bloody demolition of Barcelona. The general rule of European football is that it will win the team with the highest resources and the most productive players, and in that sense, it is as vital a gap as the CEO’s victory over RB Leipzig on Tuesday.
Lyon is at least a stranger less difficult to encourage than Leipzig. Although the bellicose Classrooms is not what you call universally enjoyed in France, you have made your club a kind of style to follow for others. And he didn’t do it once, but twice. First, at the turn of the century, when smart recruitment, especially from South America, made Lyon the leader of French football. And now, while his productive academy and emphasis on young people have earned him a reputation as one of the leading skill factories in Europe.
Houssem Aouar and Maxence Caqueret are the two crown jewels; Either of you will have to use this game when your star explodes, when they advertise to the world, if Lyon has a chance.
Bayern is, as always, great:
Manuel Neuer; Joshua Kimmich, Jerome Boateng, David Alaba, Alphonso Davies; Thiago Alcantra, Leon Goretzka, Ivan Perisic, Thomas Muller, Serge Gnabry; Robert Lewandowski.
It’s the same starting line-up that hit Chelsea (4-1) and Barcelona (8-2) to get here.
Lyon also sticks to what has worked in the past, which Moussa Dembélé, the fit boy in the quarter-final win over Manchester City, starts on the bench.
Lyon Programming:
Anthony Lopes; Leo Dubois, Marcellus, Jason Denayer, Maraal; Houssem Aouar, Maxence Caqueret, Bruno Guimaraes, Maxwel Cornet, Memphis Depay, Karl Toko Ekambi.
Today’s referee is Spaniard Antonio Mateu Lahoz. He’s about to be a talking referee.
With Lyon in a 3-5-2 formation, with wings in a position to back up or forward, and Bayern in their own 4-2-3-1 usual, today there will be some action and opportunities outdoors. Training
Bayern’s Davies and Kimmich, for example, can be devastating when they pass the attack, which they do generously. However, this can create the possibility of a counterattack for Lyon if caught.
Of course, if they go forward and do what they did against Barcelona, create passes or score them in groups, then enter the counter-court is possibly the last thing in Lyon’s mind. Davies’ solo career, to set Up Kimmich against Barcelona, is enough to keep defenders awake.
That said, Bayern’s top line, a feature of his forefoot technique, saw him catch up from the start at some events opposed to Barcelona. He was lucky not to burn, and the goal began temporarily, however, Manchester City scored the first opposite goal against Manchester City taking a similar opportunity. Therefore, he also knows that any team that the competitive nature of an opponent can become contrary to it.
Aouar, the promising 22-year-old Lyon midfielder, grew up at the club. He joined Lyon as an 11-year-old fan in 2009 and over the years has one of the club’s most productive talents since its debut at the age of 18 in 2017.
He wears the number 8 shirt, which he gave him when his former wearer, Corentin Tolisso, joined Bayern Munich three years ago. But this, he pointed out on social media this morning, is not his only Bayern-Lyon connection.
Ten years ago, at the age of 12, Aouar wrote on his social media accounts that one of the young players decided to take one of the banners to the field when Lyon welcomed their only Champions League semi-final.
Bayern Munich won that day, with a hat trick (left foot, right foot, head) from Ivica Olic, and qualified for the final, where they lost to Inter Milan in Jose Mourinho. Aouar now has to write another story.
Wednesday’s winner will face Paris St.-Germain, who beat RB Leipzig in the first semi-final on Tuesday, in Sunday’s high at Estedio da Luz del Benfica.
The game will be P.S.G.’s first appearance in the latest and the culmination of a multi-year assignment through its Qatar owners to build a world-class team. This didn’t go well for P.S.G. But as Rory wrote tuesday night:
After all the bad turns, all the pain and disappointment, humiliations and changes of scenery and the heartbreaking collapses, the Paris Saint-Germain, in spite of everything, has done what was designed and built.
This year marked PSG’s first appearance in the semi-finals since 1995, long before the arrival of the club’s Qatari owners and even the birth of Kylian Mbappé, and the club, in recent years, has become accustomed to not facing one of the European giants. But he has everything he wants to compete this time: the most expensive player in the world for Neymar, possibly his young player in Mbappé, and the courage, drive and luck that have been lost beyond the races.
Sunday, in front of a rival in traditions, will be the last check of a transfer that has been in the dial for years.
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