UEFA Champions League: Bayern Munich triumph over Lyon 3-0 to reach champions league Final
Bayern Munich marched their way to their 11th UEFA Champions League final after making little work of Lyon’s brief early-game dominance.
Bayern might have been expected to blow Lyon away after their quarter-final demolition of Barcelona, but it was actually the French side who made the brighter start, with Memphis Depay finding the side-netting after being put through on goal by Maxence Caqueret.
Leon Goretzka nearly put the Bundesliga giants ahead with a mishit attempt, before Depay flashed another attempt wide and Karl Toko Ekambi hit the post from point-blank range.
Gnabry then gave his profligate opponents a lesson in finishing, cutting in from the right, jinking past several defenders and unleashing a glorious left-footed strike that former Bayern man Arjen Robben would have been proud of.
The Germany international had another sniff following a Marcal error, drawing a smart stop from Anthony Lopes, and then doubled Bayern’s advantage with a simple finish just after the half-hour mark, when Lewandowski somehow failed to convert Ivan Perisic’s inch-perfect cross from the left.
Perisic ought to have put the game out of sight for Bayern early in the second half, but could only conjure up a tame effort after being brilliantly picked out by Alphonso Davies. The Canada international used his pace to snuff out a couple of Lyon attacks, and Manuel Neuer was called into action as Rudi Garcia’s men upped the tempo, first gathering Marcelo’s header from a corner and then producing a fantastic save to deny Toko Ekambi, who should have done better.
Lyon continued to search for a way back into the game, but their cutting edge was conspicuous by its absence, even after the introduction of Moussa Dembele and Jeff Reine-Adelaide.
Perhaps with one eye on the weekend, Flick replaced goalscorer Gnabry with Philippe Coutinho, having already brought on Niklas Süle for Jerome Boateng at the break. The Brazilian had the ball in the net shortly afterwards, but it was correctly ruled out for offside.
Benjamin Pavard also made his return from injury as Bayern ran down the clock and eased into their 11th Champions League showpiece, Lewandowski adding gloss to the scoreline with a late header from Joshua Kimmich’s free-kick.
Final:
Bayern Munich will meet PSG into the final of UEFA champions league 2019-20 this Sunday, 23 August 2020.
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