Bayern Munich vs. Barcelona score: Lucas Hernandez, Leroy Sane ruin Robert Lewandowski’s return to Germany

Barcelona and Bayern Munich both had plenty of chances on Tuesday when they met in the Champions League group stage’s second matchday. But only one side made them count and they walked away with the three points. Bayern scored two goals early in the second half to defeat a wasteful Barca side, 2-0, at the Allianz Arena, ruining Robert Lewandowski’s return.

Lucas Hernandez headed home a Joshua Kimmich corner kick in the 50th minute, and Leroy Sane scored a stellar second for the hosts four minutes later as the German side took full command of Group C with six points from two games. 

Here’s the game-winning goal:

They now have a three-point advantage over Barca and Inter Milan, the latter having defeated Viktoria Plzen earlier in the day. 

Here’s Bayern’s second goal:

Bayern were far from sharp in this one, lacking a key pass several times in the first half, but their sharpness improved in the second half, capitalizing on woeful Barca defending. The Catalan club, on the other side, had some incredible opportunities but lacked precision. Lewandowski, who had scored in five straight games for Barca, failed to convert against his former club, missing a couple of golden opportunities.

Here are three takeaways from the match:

The Barca defense was horrendous

It was not a great showing for this Barca backline. Andreas Christensen and Ronald Araujo started at center back, but they might have been better off going with an old Gerard Pique considering how woeful they were. There was a lack of connectivity between the four main defenders and the execution just wasn’t there.

On the first goal, Marcos Alonso, a player who, while technically a defender, is on the field for his attacking attributes,, left Hernandez completely wide open for his front-post header to score the opening goal. 

On the second goal, defenders Jules Kounde and Araujo had what seemed like 20 yards between them, allowing a gaping hole for Sane to pass through before finishing. Now, Kounde was at right back and wasn’t in the worst position ever, but if you go back and watch the highlight, you will see Andreas Christensen on the left of the picture, way behind Sane. His positioning there was inexcusable. He took a poor angle at trying to defend Jamal Musiala, and by the time he looked up, Sane was through on goal. 

There’s plenty of work to do along that backline, but Christensen didn’t do himself any favors with that performance.

It was far from the return Lewandowski expected 

Most probably expected Lewandowski to score. After all, he had found the net in his last five games for Barca and had been unstoppable. But this was one of those games to forget. 

Lewandowski had seven shots in the game, the most he’s had in a match for Barca. But four of those were blocked and just two were on frame. Perhaps what was his best chance, coming in the first half, saw him lift a golden opportunity over the crossbar from inside the box. He also then had a back-post header denied by Manuel Neuer that looked like a sure goal. 

He put just 28.6% of his shots on goal, his lowest percentage when having at least five shots since March.

The Bavarians are in full control of Group C

Two games against Viktoria Plzen for Matchday 3 and Matchday 4 means Bayern will likely have 12 points after four games, and that could be enough in the end to win the group. While their domestic form may be below average with three consecutive draws, they look likely to run away with this group after two games. 

But that doesn’t quite mean all is gravy. The 18 shots they conceded is the second most they’ve given up since November of 2020, and the 2.0 xG against is the most they’ve allowed in a UCL game since facing Liverpool during the 2018-19 season. 

They gave up way too many good looks, they were slow to react on one-touch passes into the box, and they were lucky at the end of the day that Barca left their scoring boots back in Spain.

It’s a positive result, but Julian Nagelsmann knows there is plenty of work left to do.