Barcelona virtually eliminated from Champions League

There have been magical comebacks in the history of Champions League competition but I expect the recent demolition in Bayern Munich to uphold and end Barcelona’s quest for the fifth European crown.

Friday, April 26, 2013
Dr. Joseph Kamugisha

There have been magical comebacks in the history of Champions League competition but I expect the recent demolition in Bayern Munich to uphold and end Barcelona’s quest for the fifth European crown.The Spanish giants were beaten at their own game and demolished by German champions 4-0 at Arianza Arena in Munich, which in a way renders the leg due next week at Nou Camp almost meaningless.Striker Thomas Muller netted twice as Mario Gomez and Arjen Robben scored a goal each in the second half to secure a convincing victory over one of the most dominant teams in Europe.With the Catalans 4 goals down, they face an uphill task to qualify for the final as the Bavarians look well set to collect all three trophies on their fronts.Bayern have already wrapped up the Bundesliga title and booked their place in the DFB Pokal final where they will face Stuttgart. Now they are on the right track to complete historic treble.Based on the performance from the first leg, Barca will struggle to overturn the 4-0 deficit, even though they have been involved in one of the greatest comebacks in this competition.In the 2000 quarter finals, Chelsea under Gianluca Vialli, beat Barcelona 3-1 at Stamford Bridge and the Catalans bounced back with a 5-1 triumph at Nou Camp.This season, in the last 16, Milan took a 2-0 lead from the first leg in San Siro and were trounced 4-0 at Nou Camp. This shows the Catalans have faced the worst previously and prevailed, and they will be hoping to do it again against an on-form Bayern side that has scored 12 goals in their previous two domestic matches.Another memorable comeback that has been witnessed in the history of the competition was the 2003/2004 quarter finals when AC Milan beat Deportivo lacoruna 4-1 at San Siro and went on to lose 4-0 in the return leg in Spain.  However, many pundits have written off Barca’s bid for what would be the most memorable comeback ever. In the first leg, the Bavarians were so organised tactically and technically, leaving a halt-fit Lionel Messi a mere spectator for most of the game.With a good game plan to stop Messi and the likes of Iniesta and Xavi, Bayern are well placed even for a win at Camp Nou.Barcelona has serious problems in defense with Gerald Pique and youngster Bartra lacking stamina to stop high flying Bayern strikers and wingmen Robben and Ribery.