The olés that reverberated throughout the Olympic stadium as Barcelona lay spirits to rest high on Montjuïc Hill were not merely a triumph; it was an exorcism. Bayern Munich, the team that was simply too good and kept reminding them of their own harsh reality, was left here in pieces, expertly sliced apart. The Ogre team had put eight past them in Lisbon, defeated them six times in a row with an aggregate score of 22-4, and hadn't even given up in the last four meetings.Barcelona broke through four times, with Robert Lewandowski scoring another goal in a 4-1 victory that seemed like a revelation, a new life, and Raphinha scoring a hat-trick in his 100th game.
Hansi Flick, the former Bayern coach who, like Lewandowski, had been on the opposing team during the 8-2 thumping four years prior, a heartbreaking, pitiful depiction of the Catalans' downfall, paid them back generously when Barcelona's president, Joan Laporta, told him, "You owe us one."
"The past doesn't count; what counts is the here and now, and that's what we can influence," he argued, although he knew this was also about the past. In terms of the future, his starting XI had six players under the age of 21, indicating that an extremely promising generation is emerging. For the time being, they appear to be in fine shape.
It had been a decade since they had won this competition, a long time since they ever considered it, and Barcelona really needed it, with players falling into the arms of stunned supporters at the finish. How they achieved it, too, was a demonstration of incision and fearlessness, danger accepted and overcome. Marc Casadó, Pau Cubarsí, Fermín López, and Lamine Yamal are exceptional young players that are fearless in any situation. This was a football match played on a clifftop, which made it all the more entertaining because there was a sense of danger in each move.
Barcelona's determination to play high and Bayern's willingness to do the same resulted in a frenzied game often pressed into the narrowest strip, an abyss on each side. The threat was always present because, rather than creeping their way around the drop, cautiously gazing down, they were running around it, battling for every inch where there was no room and the opportunity to throw the pass over the line, where there was enough of it. And where would the game be won?
The first team to accomplish so was Barcelona; after only forty-five seconds, Raphinha was sent running free by López's deft, fast pass, and the Brazilian went around Manuel Neuer to cause Montjuïc to explode. And so it started, with both teams walking a beautiful and enjoyable line. Harry Kane headed in on six minutes, or so he believed, as Bayern took advantage next. When he volleyed Serge Gnabry's cross past Iñaki Peña to make it 1-1, VAR declared that one out for offside but left the other one uncalled.
The plan was coming together to be carried out once more with an astounding level of accuracy. Casadó appeared to be boxed deep in his own half, but he managed to get out and hit Raphinha with a magnificent long diagonal before sprinting free once again and sending a spectacular shot into the corner. After halftime, Bayern attempted to rally, but they succeeded once again. Raphinha was off again, putting his shot past Neuer to make it four after Lamine Yamal sent a fantastic swinging pass into space. It's time to appreciate this in a way that nobody anticipated, as Barcelona's bete noire played with each completed pass.
Barcelona's philosophy is to chase offsides, but at this point, it appeared like a really hazardous move. With Kane's pass to Raphaël Guerreiro nearly setting up the second goal, Bayern was gaining ground, and more chances seemed certain. However, Barcelona battled their way into the game one centimeter at a time, then abruptly in 40-meter jumps, and the Bavarian club would be caught since Bayern was also stepping high, albeit not quite so high.
The simplicity of their initial approach enraged Vincent Kompany, as did the suggestion of a push. Two lines were cut off by Lamine Yamal's shortened delivery. Misjudging the flight, Kim Min-jae leaped. López pivoted, sprinted into the box, and lifted past Neuer while hovering behind with a hand in the back. Lewandowski then sent it into an open net.
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