Champions League: Serge Gnabry’s latest London masterclass puts Bayern on course for next round
Chelsea 0-3 Bayern Munich
(Gnabry 51′ 54′, Lewandowski 76′)
Stamford Bridge, London
After scoring four away at Tottenham Hotspur in the group stage, Serge Gnabry produced another London masterclass as his two second-half strikes put Bayern Munich on course for a 3-0 win away at Chelsea.
Robert Lewandowski set up both goals before adding the third himself – his first Champions League knock-out stage goal in over two years. Chelsea’s Marcos Alonso was later sent off after elbowing Lewandowski in the face, making the Blues’ task in Munich in the second leg even more difficult.
Bayern enjoyed most of the possession in a goalless first half and came closest to opening the scoring when Thomas Müller’s backwards header came back off the crossbar, while Lewandowski forced two good saves from Chelsea goalkeeper Willy Caballero.
At the other end, the hosts proved dangerous on the break and Bayern had to call upon Manuel Neuer to save from Mateo Kovacic to keep the scores level.
Davies had a superb performance in London
Quickfire double
But Bayern struck twice in quick succession after the break, Gnabry and Lewandowski linking up almost identically for both.
First, the pair exchanged passes on the edge of the box before the former Arsenal player fired home. Then, just three minutes later, they repeated the move down the left wing, Gnabry again finishing with aplomb.
Lewandowski added a third but the credit must go to Alphonso Davies. The Canadian enjoyed another outstanding evening at left-back and left Andreas Christensen in his wake with his pace before crossing for the Pole to finish.
After a comprehensive win, Bayern Munich already have one foot in the quarterfinals.
As it happened:
FULL-TIME: Chelsea 0-3 Bayern Munich
85′ As well as Marcos Alonso, Chelsea will also be without Jorginho (suspended after picking up a yellow card for dissent earlier on) and Ngolo Kanté (injured). Could be an uphill struggle.83′ RED CARD: Marcos Alonso (Chelsea)
As Müller advances down the right, Lewandowski looks to run into position ahead of him but he his checked by Marcos Alonso with an elbow to the face. Straight red. Game over. Tie over?
81′ Tammy Abraham runs centrally at the Bayern defense. He has Willian to his right but continues alone until Boateng stops him with a well-timed tackle. But he looks like his thigh has cramped up as a result.
76′ GOAL! Chelsea 0-3 Bayern (Lewandowski)
Davies exchanges passes with Coutinho and then sends Christenson sprawling as he beats him with his pace. The Canadian crosses for Lewandowski who taps home his first Champions League knock-out stage goal since February 2018.
74′ Willian sends a dangerous ball across the Bayern six-yard box but it evades everyone, including Tammy Abraham at the back post, and Bayern survive.
69′ Müller sends Rüdiger the wrong way and crosses to the back post but Coutinho is off balance and can’t get his shot on target.
64′ Devastating for Kingsley Coman! The Frenchman pulls up clutching his hamstring, with which he has had issues before. He’s replaced by Philippe Coutinho.
Ticket price protest in the away end
54′ GOAL! Chelsea 0-2 Bayern (Gnabry)
No, it wasn’t a replay, Bayern double their lead! And it’s the same two involved again: Lewandowski to Gnabry, back to Lewandowski, back to Gnabry, back of the net. Chelsea look stunned.
51′ GOAL! Chelsea 0-1 Bayern (Gnabry)
The away goal! A rapid Bayern counter-attack ends with a brilliant exchange of passes between Gnabry and Lewandowski and the former Arsenal man finishes to put Bayern ahead. Lovely move!
48′ Big chance for Chelsea! Mount looks like he’s through one-on-one with Neuer but Davies uses his lightning pace to get back. The ball falls to the onrushing Barkley but Neuer stands tall to block at close range.
SECOND-HALF! We’re back underway, both sides unchanged.
HALF-TIME: Chelsea 0-0 Bayern Munich
A fairly even first half in which Bayern have enjoyed most of the possession and hit the bar through Müller, who has been their best player. But Chelsea have shown that they can counter-attack and have also come close through Marcos Alonso. Robert Lewandowski has tested Chelsea goalkeeper Caballero twice but is still waiting to end his Champions League knock-out stage goal drought. All to play for in the second half.
45+1′ Yellow card for Thiago for a late challenge on Barkley. The first of the game.
45′ Gnabry does well to win the ball back for Bayern high up the pitch and then wins a corner. Well played. But Kimmich’s delivery is punched clear by Caballero.
43′ At the other end, Chelsea break with Alonso who leaves Pavard for dead and fires a low shot which Neuer saves well.
43′ Kimmich sends a dangerous ball into the box but Chelsea clear.
42′ Bayern win a free-kick on the right-hand side after a bad challenge by Alonso on Coman.
35′ CROSSBAR! Bayern come closest to opening the scoring as Müller heads Gnabry’s cross onto the bar! It was an odd header though, the German meeting the ball with the back of his head and with his back to goal, and yet he had all the space in the world to get a proper effort on target.
34′ A poor clearance from Neuer leads to Chelsea’s biggest chance so far. The initial cross goes long but Kovacic keeps it alive and plays it back across the six-yard-box with the Bayern defense at sixes and sevens. But the visitors survive.
29′ Close from Müller! The “space interpreter” whips a ferocious effort just wide of the post. I think Caballero may have been beaten there …
28′ The next big Bayern chance as Müller finds space on the edge of the box and plays in Lewandowski – but again Caballero is on hand to save. Bayern are getting closer …
26′ Davies and Gnabry combine on the edge of the Chelsea box and the ball is stabbed through to Lewandowski, but Caballero is there first.
25′ Speaking of possession, the Germans have had 66 percent of it so far.
24′ A prolonged spell of Bayern possession leads to very little until Chelsea win the ball and break. Giroud flicks it on to Ross Barkley but the English international’s cross drifts harmlessly across the box.
20′ … which Giroud meets but it bounces harmlessly into Neuer’s arms.
19′ Alaba clears Reece James’ dangerous cross for a Chelsea corner …
18′ Kovacic plays in Mount with a good ball from midfield for Chelsea, but Davies uses his pace to get back and clear the danger.
15′ A first sight of goal for Lewandowski who latches onto a long ball forward over his shoulder. He catches it well on the volley with his left but Caballero makes himself big to save.
11′ Big chance for Bayern! Müller sends Coman on his way and the Frenchman has Lewandowski for company, but he opts to shoot and drags his shot wide.
9′ Giroud flicks a goal kick onto Mount who cuts inside past Davies and gets a shot away – just wide. The Mount vs. Davies duel has characterized the opening stages.
7′ Chelsea’s first effort of the game as Mount fires over the bar. Both sides which an energetic start here.
3′ A late challenge from Mount on Davies which catches the Canadian’s ankle nastily, but the Englishman gets away without a booking.
1′ Thomas Müller immediately with Bayern’s first shot on target, which is saved by Caballero.
KICK-OFF! We’re underway at Stamford Bridge
Choreo!
There’s a choreography in the home end ahead of kick-off, although it’s always hard to tell who actually organizes them in England. In Germany, the ultras are proud of their autonomy whereas English displays tend to be club-organized. This one’s not worked too well, anyway.
Hansi Flick: “Important to score an away goal, or even two.”
One day after his 55th birthday, head coach Hansi Flick has said an away goal would be the ideal present, but Bayern will have to break Chelsea down to do that.
“The Tottenham game showed that Chelsea have got a bit more stable with three center-backs,” he told Sky. “They have a good mixture of experience and youth and they try to put the opposition under pressure. But we’re coming here to stamp our own authority on the game. It will be important to get an away goal – or maybe even two.”
Atmosphere building
Other Bayern fans have made it into the Shed End and are already making their presence known:
Trouble at the turnstiles
Our man on the ground tonight, Matt Pearson, reports of some trouble outside the away end at Stamford Bridge. Video footage appears to show several Bayern supporters attempting to rush the turnstiles. Arrests have reportedly been made and some fans appear to have been injured.
TEAM NEWS: Chelsea
Chelsea manager Frank Lampard opts for the same XI which beat London rivals Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 in the Premier League at the weekend. German international Antonio Rüdiger and former Borussia Mönchengladbach center-back Andreas Christensen form the central defensive partnership.
Chelsea XI: Caballero – Azpilicueta, Christensen, Rüdiger – James, Jorginho, Kovacic, Alonso – Mount, Barkley – Giroud
TEAM NEWS: Bayern Munich
Hansi Flick makes four changes to the side which left it late against Paderborn on Friday night and returns to a back four. Jerome Boateng returns to central defense as Lucas Hernandez drops to the bench, Benjamin Pavard is at right-back in place of Alvaro Odriozola, while Joshua Kimmich moves back into midfield in place of Corentin Tolisso. Kingsley Coman gets the nod behind Robert Lewandowski ahead of Philippe Coutinho.
Bayern Munich XI: Neuer – Pavard, Alaba, Boateng, Davies – Thiago, Kimmich – Gnabry, Müller, Coman – Lewandowski
Knockout stage first timers
Hansi Flick and Frank Lampard will be in opposite dugouts when Bayern Munich take on Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Both have featured in the knockout stages of the Champions League as players, but will make their debuts as head coaches tonight. For Flick there’s a little more on the line than for Lampard.
Fun fact
Current manager Frank Lampard captained the Chelsea side that defeated Bayern on penalties in the 2012 final at the German club’s own stadium in Munich – although Bayern were able to enjoy a measure of revenge in the UEFA Super Cup the following season.
From the coach’s mouth: Hansi Flick
“I need to extend a compliment to Frank Lampard. They have a young team, and are very carefree when they play. They counter-attack quickly and look to shoot. They are a team that can put you under a lot of pressure, especially when they’re at home. That was also evident in their game against Spurs. They will try to knock us out of our rhythm. We will need to resist.”
From the coach’s mouth: Frank Lampard
“We are up against strong opposition. Bayern can win the Champions League in any given year. Our task is to prepare the team for this match. We need to be focused and give it our all in order to win both games.”
In the spotlight: Robert Lewandowski
The prolific Pole has been banging in goals for fun this season. 38 goals in 32 competitive matches to be exact. However, you would have to go back to February 20, 2018 for the last time he scored in the Champions League knockout stages. That’s 597 minutes without a goal – almost 10 hours!
Possible line-up: Chelsea
Caballero – James, Christensen, Rüdiger, Azpilicueta – Jorginho, Mount, Kovacic – Pedro, Abraham, Willian
Possible line-up: Bayern Munich
Neuer – Pavard, Boateng, Alaba, Davies – Kimmich, Thiago – Gnabry, Müller, Coman – Lewandowski