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After dismantling an in-disarray Barcelona team, Bayern Munich firmly established themselves as the favourites for this year’s UEFA Champions League. In their way of a place in the final stood Rudi Garcia’s Olympique Lyon, a team that had defied all odds by knocking out Juventus and Manchester City.
After fluffing a few great chances, Lyon would find themselves 1-0 down after 18 minutes through a Serge Gnabry strike. The German team would double their lead 15 minutes later through the same man as Gnabry tapped in from close range. The scoreline would stay the same until the 88th minute as Robert Lewandowski would add a third through a bullet header. Now, the Germans have their eyes set on completing a historic treble with Paris Saint-Germain looking to achieve the same feat.
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Here are the hits and flops from Lyon 0-3 Bayern Munich.
#5 Hit – Manuel Neuer
It’s undeniable that Manuel Neuer is one of the best keepers of all time. The German shot-stopper has been the standard-bearer of European goalkeeping for well over a decade now. He’s the epitome of excellence at Bayern and now, even at 34 years of age, it looks like the keeper has no intention of slowing down.
In a match where his defence was caught out severally, Neuer’s actions in goal stopped this from being an improbable defeat. For Depay’s chance in the early minutes, Neuer’s quickness to meet him put him off and saved Bayern from going 1-0 down straightaway. Throughout the course of the game, the 34-year-old made three big saves that kept his team in the game and secure a place in the UCL final.
#4 Flop – Karl Toko Ekambi
It’s a harsh fact in football that if you don’t take your chances, you will be punished. Playing up front alongside Memphis Depay, Karl Toko Ekambi did his best to get in behind Bayern’s high defensive line. In fact, they managed to breach that high line on several occasions in the opening 17 minutes of the game, as Bayern’s insistence on trying to press teams into their own half backfired.
In the 17th minute, Ekambi managed to find himself in acres of space as he dummied Alphonso Davies, cut inside, and smashed an effort off the post. From six yards out, the Cameroonian should have done better as he had Manuel Neuer at his mercy. Just one minute later, Bayern would score their first and never look back.
#3 Hit – Houssem Aouar
In a team void of quality on the ball, Houssem Aouar's world-class ability shone through despite the challenging circumstances. The Frenchman’s confidence and willingness to always be on the ball helped drag this average Lyon team to a reasonable performance against the best team in Europe.
If it weren’t for Aouar’s ball-carrying skills and threat in the final third, Lyon could have held a thrashing from Bayern as Barcelona did. Despite his team only having 35% possession, the 22-year-old managed to complete 21 passes, 4 dribbles and create 2 chances.
#2 Flop – Memphis Depay
A lot has been made of Memphis Depay's form this season. The Dutchman has directly contributed to 17 goals (15G, 2A) in 21 appearances, that’s a strike rate befitting of his new captain status. He’s become a leader at Lyon, and many looked to him to be the man to defeat Bayern tonight. Unfortunately, the 26-year-old would fail to deliver when his club needed him most. So much so, that Lyon fans were questioning the manager’s choice not to start Moussa Dembele over him.
When you’re the talisman and captain of a team, you convert 1v1s. In the 4th minute of the game, Depay was put through clean on goal and he couldn’t even get his effort on target. Apart from that, the striker made 0 dribbles and lost possession 7 times in a very disappointing display.
#1 Hit – Serge Gnabry
Many an Arsenal fan was watching the Bayern winger with much regret tonight. Once again, the 25-year-old put on a scintillating display that proved he’s undoubtedly one of the best in the world. When his team were under pressure and getting sliced open by Lyon, Gnabry decided to take things into his own hands.
He cut in from the right side, ran at the heart of the Lyon defence and rocketed a shot into the top corner. This was Bayern’s first chance of note in the game and the youngster made it count. Gnabry would add a second and put his team firmly in control in the 33rd minute as he tapped in a rebound. In a man of the match performance, the former Arsenal man scored 2 goals, completed 20 passes, made 2 tackles, and won 3 ground duels.
