Highlights and Analysis: Champions League Semifinals, Barcelona at Bayern Munich

Thomas Müller scored two goals and set up two others as Bayern Munich thrashed visiting Barcelona, 4-0, on Tuesday in a Champions Leaguesemifinal.

The eagerly anticipated showdown between European heavyweights, both former winners of the competition, was a complete mismatch. Bayern dominated the midfield even as it surrendered much of the possession, frustrating Barcelona’s passing game before it could get close enough to create chances. Then Bayern punished the Catalans on set pieces at the other end, dominating the air — at times simply bullying Barcelona into submission.

Barcelona had hoped to get a boost from its star Lionel Messi, who returned from a hamstring injury sustained in the quarterfinal, but the tiny Argentine — unable to find an inch of space and clearly not fit — was virtually invisible all game.

Barcelona never seemed to have a chance. Losing his marker in the 25th minute, Müller drove in a header for the opening goal. Four minutes after halftime, he headed a ball off a corner kick into the goalmouth, where Mario Gomez swept it in. The visitors were stunned, and it only got worse.

Müller set a crushing pick on a defender to free Arjen Robben to score from a tight angle in the 73rd minute, and then slid in to add his second goal in the 82nd.

By then Barcelona seemed to be praying for the end, just wanting to get out of Bavaria and hopefully turn things around at its Camp Nou stadium next week. But a four-goal deficit will be almost impossible to erase, making it highly likely now that Bayern will face the Real Madrid-Borussia Dortmund winner in the final at Wembley on May 25.

Source: nytimes

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