Barcelona confirmed their place in the final of the Champions League despite a 3-2 defeat to Bayern Munich in the second leg of their last-four clash this evening.
Bayern went into the match needing an unprecedented comeback having lost the first leg 3-0 last week, but they got off to a perfect start when Mehdi Benatia nodded them ahead after just seven minutes.
That left the hosts needing just two goals without reply, but they couldn't keep Barca out at the other end and a brace from Neymar ensured that the visitors went into the break with a commanding 5-1 aggregate lead.
Bayern refused to lie down, however, and got two goals back through Robert Lewandowski and Thomas Muller, but it was not enough to see them reach a third final in four years.
Here, Sports Mole takes an in-depth look at an intriguing clash between two European heavyweights at the Allianz Arena.
Match statistics
BAYERN
Shots: 19
On target: 8
Possession: 54%
Corners: 5
Fouls: 19
BARCELONA
Shots: 5
On target: 4
Possession: 46%
Corners: 1
Fouls: 12
Was the result fair?
Both on the night and in the tie overall, the result is fair. There is little doubt that Bayern deserved to win this evening, if only for the second-half performances of both teams. Before the break it was another open and enthralling feast of attacking football - helped by some shabby defending at both ends of the field. Bayern had a host of chances to make things interesting, while Barca looked dangerous every time they came forward on the counter-attack.
That changed in the second half, though, with Barca's first moment of real attacking intent coming deep into stoppage time when Neymar couldn't find Lionel Messi with a square pass for a tap-in. Apart from that, Bayern dominated possession and dictated the tempo of the game as they looked to at least restore some pride. Barca seemed content to let them do that, with the tie already sewn up after their two away goals. Bayern probably had more chances in the first half than they did in the second, though, and it would have been very interesting to see what would have happened had they managed to take a couple of them.
On the night, Bayern looked comfortable, but in the tie as a whole Barca knew that a 3-2 defeat would suit them just fine. With the exception of the second half in this match, when the job had already been done, Barcelona were something special in this tie. In truth, Bayern weren't too far behind overall, with Messi's brilliance the main difference in the first leg, but the right team has progressed to the final. Could an El Clasico showpiece be on the horizon?
Bayern's performance
It was pretty much mission impossible for Bayern Munich going into this match. They knew they had the goals in their team to overturn the deficit, but the biggest question was whether they could keep Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar out at the other end. Not many have managed that this season, and Bayern joined the list of failed attempts, although they didn't help themselves. Their defensive tactics were bordering on suicidal at times. It wasn't quite as gung-ho as their man-for-man coverage at the start of the first leg, but they continually left acres of space in behind them for Barca's pacey attackers to exploit.
Benatia's early header felt at the time like it could be the beginning of something special, but it soon became clear that Bayern wouldn't be able to keep Barca from scoring. Their defending for Neymar's second goal in particular was shambolic, and throughout the first half they made things far too easy for a strikeforce that needs no help at all. Those two away goals well and truly killed the tie off if it wasn't already, but the number of chances Bayern created at the other end would have kept a glimmer of hope in Pep Guardiola's heart.
You felt they needed to take another one of them before half time to stand any chance, though, and that didn't happen. Bayern's second-half display deserves respect, showing great attitude to keep plugging away despite the tie being over as a contest. As a result they restored some pride and ended their losing streak, which is one of a number of positives they can take out of this tie. At 2-1 down it looked like they could be on course for an embarrassment, but they battled away for the win on the night. Overall, though, they simply came up against a better side.
Barcelona's performance
Even when Benatia's header nestled into the net after just seven minutes, Barca wouldn't have been too worried. Already by that point they had got in behind the Bayern defence once, and the space that was available to their attackers meant that it wouldn't be their last chance. Sure enough, Neymar turned the game around before the half-hour mark, and Barcelona took their foot off the pedal from that point on. It was tie over, and the visitors didn't create another notable chance until stoppage time of the second half.
From a neutral point of view, it would have been good to see them continuing in the same attacking vein throughout the second half, but it seemed as though Luis Enrique had told his players to take it easy after the break. They rarely got out of second gear and seemed content for Bayern to dominate possession and even win on the night. Barca did get sloppy and looked like a shadow of the team we had seen for the previous 135 minutes of the tie, but they could afford to ease off having done the hard work already.
The scoreline ends Barcelona's fine form of eight wins on the bounce, but whoever gets through from the other semi-final will not look too deeply into the fact that Barcelona lost this match. They were excellent again in the first half today, particularly up front, and their form in recent months rightly makes them favourites to lift the trophy. One area of concern tonight was crosses into the box, with the defending for Benatia's goal especially poor, but overall it has been a joy to watch the Spanish giants in this tie.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Robert Lewandowski: A tough one to call considering the contrasting nature of the two halves. Neymar was a candidate having done the damage in the first half, while Suarez also deserves a mention for creating those chances. Lewandowski was probably the most consistent threat on the field over the whole 90 minutes, however, capping his performance with a brilliantly-taken goal. He was also denied by a stunning stop from Marc-Andre ter Stegen in the first half, in addition to missing a few other openings.
Biggest gaffe
These may be two of the best teams in the world, but some of the defending on show was schoolboy level. The marking for Benatia's opener was dreadful from Barca, with the defender being left completely unmarked to plant a header home. At the other end, one flicked header on the halfway line beat the entire Bayern defence to set Suarez and Neymar through in a two-on-one situation for the game's third goal.
Referee performance
Mark Clattenburg didn't have any major decisions to make this evening. He was a little card-happy at times, dishing out seven bookings overall, but all in all it was a solid enough showing.
What next?
Bayern: Bayern will now look to get back to winning ways in domestic action when they travel to Freiburg in the penultimate game of their Bundesliga season.
Barcelona: Confusion continues to reign over what is next for Barcelona. The Champions League final in Berlin takes place on June 6 and, as it stands, that is their next match. All Spanish games have been called off due to a strike, which means that league meetings with Atletico Madrid and Deportivo, in addition to the Copa del Rey final against Athletic Bilbao, are currently on hold.
Barney Corkhill
