I watch them a lot.
And I take Barcelona seriously because they take their mission seriously.
Last night they were 2-1 up at half-time.
Then Bayern won the second half 2-0, so Barcelona lost the second leg by 3-2.
But Messi & Co beat the German champions 5-3 on aggregate.
Usually, when I’ve been watching Barcelona this season, I’ve been thinking: Who can beat them?
I’ve been looking around all year for opponents who can give them a game.
Maybe Chelsea with Diego Costa could have given Barcelona a game.
Without Costa, Chelsea drew twice with PSG and went out on away goals.
Last night in the packed Allianz Arena the ref for this very competitive contest was Mark Clattenberg.
If you start 3-0 down against Barcelona, you need an early goal. That’s what the first 20 minutes was all about.
After 5, Rakitic made a ripping run into the box onto a killer ball over the top from Dani Alves and fired a low shot across Neuer, which the big man saved low down with his right hand.
Bayern replied with a Thiago shot that hit Pique in the ribs
Then Bayern got a corner in 7 minutes and unmarked centreback Benatia headed in very powerfully
A really great time to score his first Champions League goal.
The replay showed that Busquets gave Benatia far too much space.
Schweinsteiger looked so slow that I still wondered if Bayern would get stuffed again.
Then Messi hit back with a sublime pass that found a Suarez run on the right side and his cutback gave Neyar a tap-in.
After 16 minutes it was 1-1.
Neymar has scored in his last 7 games for Barcelona. And I’ve had bets on him in three of those matches.
After 27, Lewandowski stabbed at Muller’s short pass and Ter Stegen, Barca’s German keeper, saved.
In 28, Messi raced into a Neymar pass, stopped the ball with his right foot and volleyed it well with his left. But Neuer saved again
I’d thought of having a bet on Muller to score. But never got round to it.
Now I made a note: Muller is dangerous – he will score.
After 29, a sensational counter-attack by Barcelona.
Messi released Suarez, who took his time before finding Neymar at the far post.
The Brazilian was supercool and inch-perfect. He allowed the ball to hit him on the chest and drop stone dead and then drilled a perfect right foot shot inside the post for 5-1 on aggregate.
Neymar is very fast, absorbs a lot of fouls, and finishes with deadly skill
He’s a human stiletto who kills matches
At that moment it looked as if Bayern need good centrebacks like Pique and Koscielny.
What has Luis Enrique changed? Well, They are more direct and Rakitic & Suarez have made them more physical. They needed a bit more bite and strength.
That was the first half: Benatia goal in 7, Naymar replies in 15 and 29 and 5-1 on aggregate.
In 59, Robert Lewandowski scored a magnificent goal that could only be scored by a world class centre forward.
Receiving the ball in the D, Lewa beat Mascherano sweetly and placed a fabulous right-foot shot just inside the post for 2-2 on the night.
We saw the Pole’s exceptional footwork when he scored that hat-trick for Dortmund against Real Madrid.
Lewandowski’s record, 23 Champions League goals in 40 appearances, speaks for itself.
In 71, Mathieu came in for Rakitic, with Mascherano moved up to midfield.
Then Thomas Muller scored a fine goal after Schweinsteiger set him up neatly with a short pass.
So it was 3-2 to Bayern but 3-5 on aggregate. And that was the final score.
When Xavi replaced Iniesta we saw a compelling glimpse of Pep’s Barca style, as they suddenly worked the ball sweetly through a group of seven defenders, finding angles we had not seen, and tiny spaces that did not appear to exist.
After the final whistle we were told that the front three had scored 25 of Barcelona’s 28 goals in the Champions League so far.
THAT IS AN ABNORMAL STAT, I think.
My comment: direct only works if you have the skill up front.
Rakitic told ITV: “Without Luis Enrique, this would not be possible.”
Luis Enrique said, “We controlled the game in the first half, then made a lot of mistakes in the second.”
Myles said: ” Berlin isn’t two legs. Barca can win it in the first half.”
Last week Roy Keane had slaughtered the unmatchfit Gareth Bale for his tentative performance in Turin.
Now Keane said, “If Gareth’s at it tomorrow, they’ve got a chance. That’s if he turns up. But he’s a top player.”