UCL Quarter Finals : Barca and GOAT Messi Butchered by the Bavarians

Contents hide

1 Bye Messi and Ronaldo: This is the Dawn of a New Era

2 Bayern are the First Team to Score 8 Times in the Champions League Knockout

4 It Could Get Worse Before It Gets Better for Barcelona

Although not vintage Barcelona in its heydays, Messi and Co didn’t put up a fight, or if they did, they were simply outshined, outclassed and put to the sword by worthy opponents.

Bayern Munich ran riot at Estadio da Luz, in the process cementing their status as the team to beat in the 2019-2020 UEFA Champions League season.

So, what can we learn from Barca`s meltdown at the hands of German champions and treble seekers Bayern?

Bye Messi and Ronaldo: This is the Dawn of a New Era

Did you know that for the past 15 consecutive years, either Messi or Ronaldo have featured in the CL semi-finals? 2020 marks the first season since 2004-2005 that one of these two maestros will miss out on a semi-final clash.

Messi has scored 30 club goals this season, notching a further 25 assists to cap off a product 2019-20 campaign. On the other hand, Ronaldo scored 39 club goals across all competitions, recording a further 6 assists.

While their stats indicate that these modern-day legends are still at the peak of their powers, one can’t help but wonder whether their decline is on the horizon.

Bayern are the First Team to Score 8 Times in the Champions League Knockout

The riot ran by the Bavarians will be remembered for quite a while. In the process of obliterating Barcelona, Bayern broke several records.

On top of becoming the first team to score eight times in the UCL knockout rounds, Bayern also became the fastest team to score four goals in a knockout game (31 minutes).

Barcelona Isn’t Among Europe’s Elite

With a magician like Messi on your team, it’s easy to assume that you can beat anyone in the world. While that might be true, Barca’s over-reliance on Messi is also evident, and the fact that the future looks bleak makes the situation even worse.

Barcelona was unable to retain the slender two-point lead they held over Real before the corona-enforced break. But Setien and the entire coaching staff couldn’t say that they didn’t see a thorough butt whooping coming from Bayern. Juve, too, were shocked to exit at the hands of surprise package Lyon, which led to Sarri’s sacking.

It Could Get Worse Before It Gets Better for Barcelona

As Barcelona defender Gerrard Pique asserted, Barca are in need of wholesale changes. This means changes right from senior management to the coaches and even players. Perhaps Messi needs to seek a fresh challenge to allow for Barca`s independent rebuild.

Losing a player like Messi is incomprehensible, but the reality is that he`s closer to hanging his boots than ever, and Barca needs to think about its future post-Messi.