Whatever has been said about coming apart at the seams, or doctor’s orders, it was one throwaway line from a thrilled Pep Guardiola that summed up the mood around Bayern Munich now better than anything. “We can play even better!”
That may be true of the second half against FC Porto, but it’s hard to think how it could be possible after a magisterial first half. It was not just the perfect 45 minutes but the perfect response to so many ructions and so much doubt, about both the Bayern team and even Guardiola’s future and pedigree.
In that, his side gave a deep display of character as well as quality. For all the goals that Bayern ended up scoring on the night, it shouldn’t be forgotten that they had almost as many problems before the game. They may be a modern super-club but that doesn’t mean Guardiola can’t face very deep challenges, and that was precisely the case in the build-up.
For one, Bayern had been so meekly listless in the first leg, in contrast to the cutting intensity of Porto. That led to the controversy of the medical stuff quitting, and the most immediate issue of a 3-1 deficit. Bayern had to go all out to make that up while also ensuring they did not concede an away goal, and that despite no Mehdi Benatia to cut Porto’s counters out, nor Arjen Robben or Franck Ribery to push the opposition back.
Given how bad Bayern had been with the same first XI in the first leg, it seemed a hugely difficult balance for Guardiola to strike. Many managers would get caught between sticking and twisting, and end up spinning out of the competition.
Instead, the Catalan turned the entire tie on its head, as well as the entire week. So much doubt was destroyed. New respect should have been created.
Rather than this tie becoming the first time Guardiola had failed to reach the semi-finals of the Champions League, it was the first time any team had hit five goals in the first half of a Champions League knockout game. There was a brilliant brutality about the performance. Guardiola more than found a balance. He ensured Bayern rediscovered their verve.
There was no navel-gazing or passive possession. This was emphatic productivity that recalled the best of Guardiola’s teams. The five first-half goals are the figures that make that clear, but other stats only further illustrate how fearsomely devastatingly they were.
Most notably, there was the fact their first three goals - the ones that won the match and the tie so early - were all headers. They’ve hit 11 headed goals in the Bundesliga this season, so this already represented 27% of that in the space of 13 minutes. Bayern had found a Porto flaw and relentlessly went for it. They only directed 27% of their attacks through the middle compared to 32% of the first leg and that resulted in countless assaults on goal, with 35% of their play in the Porto third - up from 28% in the Dragao.
The passiveness of the first game was eradicated - and so were the opposition. Guardiola’s team battered them right back. They just went for it, no hesitation or doubt.
In that first half, Bayern managed 11 shots on goal, which was more than double the five they had in the entirety of that uninspiring first leg. They were also forcing Fabiano into so much more work, with eight of those shots on target. Porto couldn’t get close to them, making nine fewer tackles than in the first leg, at 19 compared to 28.
It was to be expected that Bayern would ease off in the second half after such an opening statement, but they should also have altered expectations for this season.
A response such as this - with so many issues before it - should mean they cannot be written off again unless they are actually out of this tournament. They should be favourites, especially with so many key players to return.
This was a squad clearly playing for their manager - as exemplified by the brilliant Thiago Alcántara, who played four key passes - and a manager making a finer statement than anything he could have said in the past week. Guardiola had this sewn up.
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