Guardiola wins the first final of his week, Bayern melancholy emerges from a competition that only a month ago seemed to be able to dominate.
– We were expecting a different evening, a real Bayern night, as has happened many times in the past in the glorious European history of the Bavarian team. Instead, it ended in an almost melancholy way, with Tuchel’s team demonstrating that they are not up to the momentum and the opponentwithout even struggling too much. We had already noticed it in the first leg, betrayed by a Bayern team that only a couple of weeks before had been able to dominate the PSG of Messi and Mbappè. Tonight we had the confirmation, in a match that certifies the failure of the technical reversal operated at the end of March. Nagelsmann’s Bayern seemed able to take everything, but today the Bavarians are out of the Champions League and the German Cup, and even in the league they seem to want to do everything to make history through the wrong door;
– Bayern also tried at the beginning, thanks to Coman’s gusts and the will to attack high that took Guardiola’s men a bit by surprise. In the 16th minute Sané had the opportunity to uncork the match, but his shot a stone’s throw from Ederson ended up wide and not by a small amount. Gradually City then resumed the field, also helped by Tuchel’s move to reverse the offensive wingers who freed Aké from the Coman nightmare. In the 35th minute the guests also had the first match ball of the match, but Haaland’s penalty ended in the stars. Despite the narrow escape, however, the favorable episode did not produce the reaction of inertia that could have been expected in the Bavarians, and the first half thus went by quite quickly and without particular dangers from Ederson’s parts;
– Around fifteen minutes into the second half, the episode that definitively closed the qualifying discussion arrived. After a good personal action on the right, Coman’s shot – again him, undoubtedly the most positive of his – ended up on Ederson’s gloves, and on the following restart the Haaland-De Bruyne-Haaland exchange isolated the Norwegian in the 1vs1 vs Upamecano. After the disastrous first leg, the French defender added another unfortunate page to his nightmarish quarter-final, ruthlessly slipping in front of the enemy and leaving Haaland free to score the opening goal, the eleventh of his tournament, the number 47 of his season nonsense. A devastating blow for the hosts, unable to react in any way until the 85th minute, when Kimmich converted the penalty which only had the effect of avoiding another defeat;
– Today it seems almost funny to think about how Bayern decided to throw away such a well-started technical project, and moreover at the least opportune moment of a season in which everything was set for a grand finale. The decision to hurry on Thomas Tuchel is also funny, as if to prevent someone from taking him away sooner. The German coach is the true great loser of this double European challenge – he together with Kahn and Salihamidzic, the architects of the most wicked decision in Bayern’s recent history. Even tonight the choices of the former Chelsea have not proved spot on. Still out Muller and Mané, inexplicably, also considering the precarious conditions of Goretzka and Choupo-Mouting, and in general an offensive inadequacy almost not worthy of such an important team. And then the attitude on the bench. Strange to see a Bayern Munich coach making himself almost ridiculous in the constant protests with the referee trio. For now, nothing works in Tuchel’s new reign, and conquering yet another Bundesliga won’t be able to change the judgment on a truly incomprehensible decision;
– We are sure that Guardiola for his 400th bench on the City bench expected a more complicated night. The only real negative note of the evening of the citizens it is Aké’s injury, which will have to be evaluated in the next few hours and which could deprive the Catalan coach of one of the best European defenders of the season. For the rest, the City sails ever more quickly towards that dream called treble. On Saturday the team will fly to Wembley to compete for access to the first final of the season, that of the Fa Cup. A few days later Arsenal will arrive at Etihad to play the match which in all probability will decide the Premier League. And as mentioned last week, never before have City finally seemed ready to take everything.