Match prizes from Bayern Munich’s 3-0 win over FC Barcelona

Shirt swap: Ferran Torres

When else can we ever give Robert Lewandowski an award again? Unfortunately, this is not the right time for that either. Lewy made a few flashy plays but couldn’t pull the attack together on his own and slipped into anonymity for much of the action. He was eventually substituted off in the 80th minute with a white flag wave from coach Xavi Hernández.

Barça looked stunned, and in a way that’s understandable – after all, they’d only just found out from Inter Milan that they’d been knocked out of the Champions League. But one player who did well was Ferran Torres. The second-half substitute was pure energy after coming on and a serious difficulty to deal with.

In the end he was too isolated – he tried to do everything on his own and just got cut off or ended up on the wrong side as a teammate anyway Oh and Oh he would pull out of the crowd. Actually the story from Barça’s days.

The Emperor: Matthijs de Ligt

Really good performance from all of Bayern Munich. De Ligt’s centre-back Dayot Upamecano made his own share of outstanding interventions. Both centre-backs also conceded yellow cards – but when it came time to bring in Benjamin Pavard, Julian Nagelsmann opted for Upamecano to make room.

De Ligt’s combination of physical stature and defensive prowess was key to Bayern’s ability to deal with Barcelona’s ultra-talented – albeit disjointed – forwards. His attack on Lewandowski, which was accurate to the centimeter, was so good that a penalty was initially awarded. In the second half he stopped Ferran Torres from getting through to Sven Ulreich and then blocked a potentially dangerous shot from distance to keep the Catalans scoreless.

No wonder Bayern made him an €80m defender in the summer transfer window and bought him from Juventus. The Bayern defense seems to be in good hands.

Soccer God: Joshua Kimmich

Bavaria’s metronome as usual. Kimmich set the pace for Bayern as they more or less drove to victory, things were going well from the middle of the park – and firing some of those fine, fine balls over the top that he’s practically patented. He was in a crucial position to intercept various Barca attempts as well.

Bayern fans sometimes take Kimmich’s extremely consistent qualities for granted. But what a rock he is for this team.

The Bomber: Sadio Mane

Redemption Season for the Senegalese striker and Ballon d’Or voting runner-up! Mané started purposefully and in style for Bayern, perfectly matching a run over Héctor Bellerín’s shoulder. He still had a lot of work to do to secure a commanding finish outside of Marc-André ter Stegen’s reach. The early advantage helped Bayern shatter Barça’s already subdued mood.

Mané was also a pressing monster and covered the whole pitch for Bayern. Determined duels, concise passes, fearsome goal threat. After a break in play, Mané again showed the value of his presence and he was full of energy from start to finish.

Of course we have to scream Mister Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting as well. His degree is really something. And that feed in the 55th minute for Alphonso Davies – maybe Le Choup is a No 10 after all?

Master of the game: Serge Gnabry

What a brilliant choice that was on the right wing. Gnabry left Kingsley Coman on the bench for tonight and quickly renewed his partnership with Sadio Mané earlier in the season – although they were initially the two central attackers in Bayern’s 4-2-2-2, this time they combined from opposite wings. As so often, Gnabry also floated inwards and showed all his skills in the playmaker role.

In the end, Gnabry had both of Bayern’s assists and almost found Mané on the break for his assist hat-trick – a feat he would have eventually accomplished quite by accident with the last kick of the game (You’re welcome, Benjamin Pavard). He should have scored his own goal too, but was ruled offside with a narrow header (despite his man roll). It was still a fine effort.

Gnabry has had his ups and downs this season and perhaps his place in Bayern’s attack has been a bit uncertain. Today he showed emphatic class on the big stage.

Want more analysis of the game? How did Nagelsmann wipe out Xavi and which players stood out? Then check out our postgame podcast! Listen below or on Spotify.

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