Despite the cold, FC Bayern München began their final push ahead of the winter break. Carlo Ancelotti’s team beat Atlético Madrid 1-0 in their last UEFA Champions League group game of the year, avenging their loss away in Madrid in the first fixture. Robert Lewandowski scored from a direct free-kick in the 28th minute to secure a fifteenth consecutive home win in the UEFA Champions League for FC Bayern.
Meanwhile, Borussia Mönchengladbach lost their last Champions League group game of the year 4-0 away to Barcelona. Borussia were already out of the UEFA Champions League before the game and instead qualify for the next round of the Europa League. Barcelona secure their place at the top of Group C thanks to goals from Lionel Messi (16’) and a hat-trick from Arda Turan (50’, 53’, 67’).
Bayern dominate from the beginning
Ancelotti went back to a 4-3-3 formation against Atlético, with David Alaba partnering Mats Hummels in central defence. Arturo Vidal also made his comeback. Bayern dominated most of the game, however it was often the final pass that was lacking in the six-yard box.
Bayern are rewarded for their efforts
Atlético came close to scoring twice through Yannick Carrasco, but Manuel Neuer did well on both occasions to keep him out. Bayern were awarded a free-kick from about 20 yards out after Juan Bernat was brought down and Robert Lewandowski curled the ball into the top corner in a very similar fashion to his goal against Mainz last weekend.
Bayern created a lot of chances in the second half, but neither Arjen Robben (54’) nor Bernat (59’) managed to add to the lead. Thiago missed a good opportunity in the 77th minute to put Bayern 2-0 up.
Gladbach and Barcelona both make changes
Both managers rotated their squads for the game on Tuesday evening. Schubert left players like Raffael, Oscar Wendt and Christoph Kramer on the bench. Meanwhile, Barcelona only had three key players on the pitch in Messi, Andres Iniesta and Javier Mascherano. Marc-André ter Stegen didn’t feature in the squad to face his former club.
Messi opens the scoring
Messi plays a one-two with Arda Turan and Yann Sommer couldn’t do anything prevent the Argentinean from opening the scoring. André Hahn had a difficult task as a lone striker when Borussia’s passes upfront were very inaccurate.
Nothing changed after the break. It was all Barcelona and the gaps were appearing in the Gladbach defence. Barcelona made the most of these gaps and Arda Turan managed to score a hat-trick within 18 minutes to secure a win for the Spanish side.
created by mmc/ej
###more###
Despite the cold, FC Bayern München began their final push ahead of the winter break. Carlo Ancelotti’s team beat Atlético Madrid 1-0 in their last UEFA Champions League group game of the year, avenging their loss away in Madrid in the first fixture. Robert Lewandowski scored from a direct free-kick in the 28th minute to secure a fifteenth consecutive home win in the UEFA Champions League for FC Bayern.
Meanwhile, Borussia Mönchengladbach lost their last Champions League group game of the year 4-0 away to Barcelona. Borussia were already out of the UEFA Champions League before the game and instead qualify for the next round of the Europa League. Barcelona secure their place at the top of Group C thanks to goals from Lionel Messi (16’) and a hat-trick from Arda Turan (50’, 53’, 67’).
Bayern dominate from the beginning
Ancelotti went back to a 4-3-3 formation against Atlético, with David Alaba partnering Mats Hummels in central defence. Arturo Vidal also made his comeback. Bayern dominated most of the game, however it was often the final pass that was lacking in the six-yard box.
Bayern are rewarded for their efforts
Atlético came close to scoring twice through Yannick Carrasco, but Manuel Neuer did well on both occasions to keep him out. Bayern were awarded a free-kick from about 20 yards out after Juan Bernat was brought down and Robert Lewandowski curled the ball into the top corner in a very similar fashion to his goal against Mainz last weekend.
Bayern created a lot of chances in the second half, but neither Arjen Robben (54’) nor Bernat (59’) managed to add to the lead. Thiago missed a good opportunity in the 77th minute to put Bayern 2-0 up.
###more###
Gladbach and Barcelona both make changes
Both managers rotated their squads for the game on Tuesday evening. Schubert left players like Raffael, Oscar Wendt and Christoph Kramer on the bench. Meanwhile, Barcelona only had three key players on the pitch in Messi, Andres Iniesta and Javier Mascherano. Marc-André ter Stegen didn’t feature in the squad to face his former club.
Messi opens the scoring
Messi plays a one-two with Arda Turan and Yann Sommer couldn’t do anything prevent the Argentinean from opening the scoring. André Hahn had a difficult task as a lone striker when Borussia’s passes upfront were very inaccurate.
Nothing changed after the break. It was all Barcelona and the gaps were appearing in the Gladbach defence. Barcelona made the most of these gaps and Arda Turan managed to score a hat-trick within 18 minutes to secure a win for the Spanish side.
###more###
