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Rediff.com  » Sports » PICS: Bayern thump Chelsea; Barca draw at spirited Napoli

PICS: Bayern thump Chelsea; Barca draw at spirited Napoli

February 26, 2020 07:23 IST
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Serge Gnabry celebrates scoring Bayern Munich's second goal against Chelsea in the Champions League Round of 16 first leg at Stamford Bridge, London, on Tuesday.

IMAGE: Serge Gnabry celebrates scoring Bayern Munich's second goal against Chelsea in the Champions League Round of 16 first leg at Stamford Bridge, London, on Tuesday. Photograph: Toby Melville/Reuters

Two second-half goals in less than three minutes from Serge Gnabry and another from prolific Pole Robert Lewandowski earned Bayern Munich a thumping 3-0 victory at Chelsea in their Champions League last 16, first leg on Tuesday.

 

The German champions, clearly a class apart from their hosts, piled on the pressure from the start of the match and bossed Stamford Bridge with flair and 63 percent possession.

"It was a really good result for us," Bayern coach Hansi Flick said. "The team performed exactly how we planned and we were very focused how we played."

It was a bad night for Chelsea, whose home form under Frank Lampard has been suspect all season, and their misery was complete in the 83rd minute when wing back Marcos Alonso was sent off for violent conduct after he caught Lewandowski in the face with his arm.

For former Arsenal forward Gnabry they were the fifth and sixth goals in London in the Champions League this season after he scored four in Bayern's 7-2 demolition of Tottenham Hotspur in the group stages.

The first against Chelsea in the 51st minute involved a one-two between Gnabry and Lewandowski, who cut back from the edge of the area when Chelsea's retreating defence expected him to shoot, leaving Gnabry with an easy finish from less than 10 metres.

Robert Lewandowski scores Bayern Munich's third goal and launches into his celebratory run.

IMAGE: Robert Lewandowski scores Bayern Munich's third goal and launches into a celebratory run. Photograph: Eddie Keogh/Reuters

Chelsea, run ragged most of the evening, had barely got their breath back when Lewandowski and Gnabry exchanged passes halfway down the pitch before Gnabry raced away to score.

Lewandowski, clearly also enjoying himself, got among the scorers in the 76th minute after a stirring run from Canadian full back Alphonso Davies.

The Germans had also wasted a series of chances in the first half.

Thomas Mueller, one of three players who figured in Chelsea's 2012 Champions League final victory over Bayern in Munich, went closest in the 35th minute when he thumped the bar with a header from another Lewandowski cross.

Tuesday's win proved a measure of revenge for that unlikely Chelsea victory when Lampard captained the team in Munich and the English coach singled out Mueller as one of the players who had made the difference with his experience of the Champions League.

Mueller also had chances in the first minute and just before the half hour when his shot from 20 metres flew just wide.

Kingsley Coman looked dangerous down the right wing in a Bayern side that appeared to be always a metre ahead of Chelsea in speed and anticipation.

The home team had 38-year-old Argentine goalkeeper Willy Caballero to thank in the first half for keeping out Lewandowski, who has scored 11 goals in the competition so far this season, saving first with his face, then with his foot.

Griezmann goal earns Barcelona draw at spirited Napoli

Antoine Griezmann scores the equaliser for Barcelona against Napoli

IMAGE: Antoine Griezmann scores the equaliser for Barcelona against Napoli, at Stadio San Paolo, in Naples, Italy. Photograph: Guglielmo Mangiapane/Reuters

Antoine Griezmann's second-half equaliser handed Barcelona a vital away goal and earned them a 1-1 draw at Napoli in their Champions League last-16 first leg meeting.

A superb curling strike from Dries Mertens put the home side in front after half an hour and saw the Belgian draw level with Marek Hamsik as Napoli's all-time top scorer with 121 goals.

But Barca breached a well-drilled Napoli defence in the 57th minute when Griezmann fired in a Nelson Semedo cross.

The visitors ended the game with 10 men after Arturo Vidal was sent off late on for picking up two yellow cards in quick succession.

The two sides, who were facing each other for the first time, will meet again at the Camp Nou for the second leg on March 18 with Barca now firm favourites to progress despite having Vidal and Sergio Busquets suspended for the return.

Dries Mertens celebrates putting Napoli into the lead.

IMAGE: Dries Mertens celebrates putting Napoli into the lead. Photograph: Guglielmo Mangiapane/Reuters

Napoli coach Gennaro Gattuso was left frustrated at the result after his well-drilled defence largely stifled a quiet Lionel Messi and co.

"I think they barely grazed us tonight, they hardly had a single shot on goal," he told Sky Sport Italia.

"They could've been there all night and not scored, but we conceded after one single error. They didn't hurt us, it barely tickled."

Barcelona dominated possession from the first whistle but struggled to find their way through the well-organised Italians, who then struck with their first meaningful attack of the game.

Junior Firpo lost the ball to Piotr Zielinski and the midfielder pulled a pass across to the waiting Mertens, who took a touch just outside the box before curling in a landmark goal, his sixth in seven Champions League games this season.

But the Belgian limped off through injury early in the second half after a hefty tackle from Busquets, which earned the midfielder the yellow card that will rule him out of the second leg.

Barca soon equalised when Griezmann fired home from close range after a neat passing move from the visitors but Napoli responded with Lorenzo Insigne and Jose Callejon both being denied by excellent saves from Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

In the 89th minute, Vidal was booked for a foul on Mario Rui and was immediately shown a second yellow for butting heads with the defender in the aftermath.

With Sunday's La Liga Clasico against Real Madrid looming, Barca were also left with concerns over defender Gerard Pique, who limped off with an injury after falling heavily on his ankle.

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