Hopes of Spanish football giant, Barcelona, using the 2020 champions league to compensation for yielding La Liga title to their major rival, Real Madrid, have been dashed after suffering an 8-2 defeat to German champions, Bayern Munich.
Before the match, the Spanish team had hoped that the tie would go the way of their previous encounter which had often ended in Barcelona favoured.
The Spanish team bowed to the firepower of their german opponent less than four minutes into the quarter-final match and eventually lost the 10 goals thriller game which saw the Argentine playmaker, Lionel Messi-led team scoring two goals and their opponent netting the rest.
Of the goals scored by the Catalan team, the first was an own goal, a mistake from David Alaba, while the second was scored by Uruguayan striker, Luiz Suarez, in second-half which later served as a consolation for the Quique Setien tutored side.
As gathered, 44 years had passed since the last time Barcelona conceded five in a single European clash and that was when they went down to a Bulgarian team, Levski Sofia, 5-4 in March 1976 during a UEFA Cup.
During the match played at Estadio da Luz in Portugal on Friday, the tactics adopted by the Blaugrana for the highly anticipated tie quickly turned into a nightmare, a development caused by their weaknesses in defence and brilliant play by Bayern’s forward led by Poland striker, Robert Lewandoski.
Thomas Muller fired the Bundesliga champions ahead less than four minutes into the encounter and, while David Alaba’s own goal briefly levelled matters, Ivan Perisic and Serge Gnabry were on hand to restore Bayern’s supremacy before Muller hit again before the break.
Trailing 4-1 at half-time after a disastrous opening 45 minutes, Barcalona needed an early goal to keep their hopes alive and Luis Suarez responded, ending his seemingly endless scoring drought in the Champions League.
Not since September 2015 against Roma had the forward managed to net in an away match in the competition, a startling record for a player of his calibre and marksmanship.
It took 1,952 minutes of action and no less than 69 shots to end that drought – an act that was soon made to look futile by the rampant Germans.
No sooner had Suarez given his side a shred of hope than Bayern replied with their fifth goal of the evening, this time converted by Joshua Kimmich.
