Match Focus: Attack the Best Form of Defence for Pep on Return to Camp Nou
'Unstoppable' is the way Pep Guardiola has described his former striker Lionel Messi ahead of a return to Camp Nou for tonight's Champions League semi-final. If there were a manager who knew how to stop the irrepressible Argentine, it should surely be the man who mentored him towards legendary status in Catalonia, but Guardiola is at a loss. Perhaps attack is the best form of defence for a Bayern side littered with creative talent; having lost the first leg of the last round 3-1 at Porto, they went on to win the return clash 6-1.
Pep is probably right. There is likely no way for him to set his team up to halt the charge of Messi, and he has a fair few other players to worry about, too.
Messi and Neymar were joined at Barcelona last summer by Luis Suarez, and although it took a while for for the Uruguayan to find his feet, it is fair to say that the trio have now developed into the lethal front line they appear on paper. A 6-0 thumping of Getafe, consisting of the most glorious and deliciously taken set of goals, was followed up this weekend as the blaugrana wiped the floor with Cordoba, putting 8 goals past them, with each of their forwards again on the scoresheet.
They now have a whopping 50 league goals between them this calendar year (Messi 25, Suarez 15, Neymar 10); there isn't a team in Europe's top 5 leagues that has scored more than that as a whole. The trio also have 6 Champions League goals from two legs against Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain, but interestingly, Messi failed to score at all against both.
His impact is much more widespread than mere goals, though, and he was named WhoScored man of the match in both legs against City, scoring a perfect 10 in the second leg at Camp Nou when he roamed all over the pitch finding pockets of space and starting moves from deep, infamously nutmegging James Milner and Fernandinho, as well as setting up the only goal of the game. He does already have 8 Champions League goals to his name this season, though, and has scored 5 goals in 3 games since the home leg against PSG, so is hardly struggling for form.
It could be Suarez, settled in a central position, that provides the greater goal threat if Pep is naive enough to be too concerned with Messi's influence. The former Liverpool man has registered a whopping 5 goals and 3 assists in his last 2 appearances, and now has 10 goals in his last 8 league and European games after hitting 12 in his first 25 in Barcelona colours. The pace and verve of that fluid front three could well cause a Bayern defence that looked shaky in defeat at Porto a few more problems.
The German champions' own attack will hope to penetrate what has become a watertight Barcelona defence under Luis Enrique. They have gone over 7 and a half hours without conceding a goal, while Cristiano Ronaldo is the only player to breach a back line led by the imperious Gerard Pique in their last 6 matches at home. Pique looks back to his very best, scoring an impressive 9.34 in WhoScored's ratings at the weekend and he will hope to stop Robert Lewandowski, should the striker be passed fit.
Guardiola is always capable of springing a surprise though Lewandowski's omission could turn out to be enforced, with the forward suffering a fractured jaw as Bayern crashed out of the DFB Pokal to Dortmund last week. The Poland international is crucial to Bayern's build up play, an out-and-out centre-forward who holds up play and brings their many midfield runners into play. In a game where his team might be out-passed, a more direct out-ball upfield to Lewandowski could be crucial.
He has 5 Champions League goals to his name this season to go with his 16 Bundesliga strikes, but interestingly he isn't Bayern's top scorer in either competition. They score tonnes of goals but the spread across the team is incredible, with no fewer than 11 players having been on the scoresheet in their 10 European outings this term. Thomas Müller, their top scorer in the Champions League, will need to step up again, but always a player who performs on the big stage, they have a reliable player to count on in him.
The midfield battle will be the most intriguing aspect of this contest, with Bayern (65.9%) and Barcelona (63.6%) unsurprisingly ranking first and second in terms of possession in this year's competition. Something will have to give in this regard, and it will be extremely interesting to see who manages to assert themselves on the ball. The two sides boast 7 of the top 8 players for passes per game in this season's Champions League, with Xabi Alonso of course leading the way, with 87.
Alongside him in the Bayern midfield tonight will be La Masia product Thiago Alcantara, who will hope to show the home crowd what they have been missing since they let him leave to join Pep in Germany. A terrible knee injury could have scuppered his progress but he remains a wonderfully gifted footballer with all manner of assets, as highlighted by his WhoScored characteristics, which also state that he has no significant weaknesses. With 2 goals and an assist over two legs against Porto - and that breathtaking elastico against Dortmund - he looks right back to his very best.
There are so many sub-plots to Barcelona vs Bayern Munich that there will surely be drama whatever the result. Goals for both teams would hardly be a surprise, even with Pep better set than most to halt the charge of his former protégé, so the visitors could be best off looking to hit their hosts where it hurts most, and that means going to Barcelona in search of goals of their own.
How do you think Pep should go about trying to win this clash? Let us know in the comments below
