Summary
Didn’t I tell you that this would be the best football match tonight? It turned out to be the best match of this year’s competition, heck, probably the best two-legged tie we have seen for years in the Champions League.
It was breathless from start to finish, but what a difference between the beginning and end of this game. Juventus were flawless for the first hour: they ran themselves into the ground, they forced mistakes from Bayern and for all Bayern’s possession, Juve made the far better chances. The thing is, with the score at 2-0, they didn’t finish Bayern off. Morata (x2) and Cuadrado both missed gilt-edged chances. Juve’s wrongly had a goal wrongly ruled out for offside. They would pay for those mistakes.
Guardiola were tactically out-thought by Allegri, but it was his changes that made the difference in getting Bayern back into this match. Two of his subs: Thiago and Coman scored in extra time to seal this win, and Coman, on loan from Juventus, also provided the cross for Müller’s 91st-minute equaliser. What a player the Frenchman will be, what a player he is already. Juventus’ changes, taking off Morata and Cuadrado, also meant that Juventus were increasingly on the back foot. In the end, the pressure proved too great. Would Juventus have survived if they had had the presence of Chiellini, the legs of Marchisio, the clinical Dybala? We’ll never know.
Thanks for joining me, tonight was a joy. Ta for the emails and tweets, see you next time. Bye!
"Give me an H!" - celebrating up close with @esmuellert_ 😆 #FCBJuve pic.twitter.com/Rkk4QTDLMU
— FC Bayern English (@FCBayernEN) March 16, 2016
Updated
Full-time: Bayern Munich 2-2 Juventus (6-4 agg)
Bayern Munich are into the quarter-finals!
15 - @FCBayern have reached the quarter final of the @ChampionsLeague for the 15th time, no other team that often. Record. #FCBJuve
— OptaFranz (@OptaFranz) March 16, 2016
Updated
ET 30 min: One minute added on here. Benatia, sitting on the sidelines in a big puffer jacket, is laughing. He must be relieved.
ET 29 min: Bonucci has one final chance for Juventus, but again Neuer is there, standing tall, to collect his effort. He knows he should have done better. Juve know, after the position that they put themselves in, that they should have done better.
ET 28 min: “This is brill,” emails Christopher Lee. “Can we keep Juve for the next round too. Can we? CAN WE?”
No.
ET 26 min: Two golden chances for Juventus! Oh, they could so easily have got themselves back into this game. But a fantastic Neuer save from a Mandzukic volley (that he should have buried) and the subsequent rebound, scuffed over the bar from Sturaro (all of four yards out) means Bayern keep their two-goal advantage.
ET 24 min: Sturaro and Bernat each given a yellow card. I’m not going to lie, I missed what that was for.
ET 22 min: Coman is on loan from Juventus, but it is a long-term one, two years I think, and Bayern have the right to buy him at the end of that loan. They surely will, hes got the second most assists in the Champions League this season. And he’s only 19.
Regarding the loan clause that I mentioned earlier, I am mistaken:
“Remember the Chelsea Atletico Champions League Semi Final saga a few years ago while Courtois was on loan there?” remembers Cian Mulligan. “They don’t hold up in Europe.”
Updated
GOAL! Bayern Munich 4-2 Juventus (Coman 109, 6-4 agg)
Game over. And it’s Coman, on loan from Juventus, who has delivered the telling blow. But what a goal. Vidal, just as he did for Bayern’s equaliser, nips in to win the ball in midfield and he feeds Coman. The Frenchman is well inside his own half, but with Juventus committed forwards, he breaks into space and isn’t challenged until he’s travelled a full 60 yards. Bonucci eventually gets to him, but he is only a bystander as Coman cuts in on his weaker left, and curls a beautiful shot into the top left-hand corner.
Updated
GOAL! Bayern Munich 3-2 Juventus (Thiago 108, 5-4 agg)
Is that the winner? Thiago plays a delightful one-two with Müller on the edge of Juve’s area and his first-time finish catches Buffon off guard, the ball rolling into the corner. I’m not sure he would have got there anyway. The Allianz Arena erupts. Thiago rips off his shirt in delight, yellow card. But he doesn’t care. Juventus look broken.
Updated
ET 16 min: Coman, on loan from Juventus remember, is looking the most dangerous player for Bayern at the moment. It seems baffling that Juventus didn’t insert a clause in Coman’s contract when they let him go. Somebody in the admin office is getting a clip round the ear.
Half-time in extra-time: Bayern Munich 2-2 Juventus (4-4 agg)
Juventus would 1,000,000% take penalties right now. Who would you fancy to prevail? And who would be your five takers for either Bayern or Juventus?
Answers on a postcard to michael.butler@theguardian.com or @michaelbutler18
Updated
ET 15 min: In case you’re not aware, Arsenal didn’t make it through to the last eight in Barcelona. And the world continues to turn. The sixth successive season that Arsenal have gone out in the last 16 of this competition.
ET 13 min: Yellow card for Pereyra. Surely we can’t be far from a red card now, I make it seven people on a booking tonight.
Updated
ET 11 min: Juventus win a free-kick in Bayern’s half. Here come the cavalry: Barzagli, Bonucci, Pogba. But it’s an awful delivery, and doesn’t beat the first man.
ET 9 min: Coman has been a breath of fresh air on that right hand side. He is so strong and brushes past Evra to the byline, but his cross is well intercepted at the near post by the everpresent Bonucci.
ET 7 min: It’s heartening to see Juventus adopting the same approach with which they had such success in the first half. They are pressing the ball high up the pitch. But have they still got the legs? Hmmmm.
ET 5 min: Ribery gets to the byline on the left, twists and turns to make half a yard, and crashes a cross/shot towards goal. Buffon decides not to catch it, and punches it back out into the danger zone but Lichtsteiner is there to boot it away.
ET 3 min: Fantastic chance for Lichtsteiner! Sturaro does well down the right, gets a low cross to the near post where Mandzukic is waiting. With his back to goal, he has the strength to hold off Alaba, and lays the ball back to Lichtsteiner … good save from Neuer. The Swiss full-back should probably have done better but the ball fell on his weaker left foot and Neuer got down well to his right.
ET 1 min: Lewandowski wins an early corner. Here comes another cross for Juventus … safely away.
Interesting to see that in the small break before we kick off again, whilst Guardiola is giving his Pep talk to Bayern’s players, it is Buffon, not manager Massimiliano Allegri that is giving Juventus’ players their instructions.
We go to extra-time! End of 90 mins: Bayern Munich 2-2 Juventus (4-4 agg)
So close for Juventus. But one would think they’ve got a tough half-hour ahead of them.
@michaelbutler18 LOL love all those who have the knives our for Pep, but his changes end up making the difference. Found out indeed.
— Abhinav Kapur (@abhinavkapur) March 16, 2016
Updated
90+2 min: Buffon rallies the troops, encouraging his team-mates on. This tie is certainly still in the balance.
GOAL! Bayern Munich 2-2 Juventus (Müller 90+1, 4-4 agg)
Bayern have done it! And yep, it came from a cross! Vidal robs the ball in midfield, feeds Coman on the right and he whips a inch-perfect cross to the back post, where Müller makes no mistake, nodding past Buffon!
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! @esmuellert_ heads us level in the 91st minute. We love you Thomas! #FCBJuve 2-2
— FC Bayern English (@FCBayernEN) March 16, 2016
Updated
90 min: Only a few minutes left for Juventus to secure the most famous of results. “This is the best two-leg match I can remember,” says Andy Gordon.
89 min: Douglas Costa is the only Bayern player that seems interested in forcing extra time.
88 min: Bayern hit the bar! But Lewandowski is ruled offside, after he again latched onto a Douglas Costa cross. Juventus hanging on.
86 min: Bayern keeping the ball nicely, passing the ball back to Neuer. Just what are they doing? There’s four minutes left!
“I agree with you (70 min) and the manner in which Bayern have managed to scrape their goal (72 min) that Guardiola needs to channel his inner Sam Allardyce for the rest of this match,” emails Peter Oh. “Route One balls to Lewandowski and Müller. Repeat! Ab sofort and ad nauseam!”
84 min: He may not have had the most glamorous of games, save for his flick-dragback earlier, but Alex Sandro has been a monster tonight. Playing left-wing, he’s helped out Evra all night, and is at it again to cover and cut in front of Coman, who fouls the Brazilian.
81 min: Pep is bouncing round his technical area like Greg Rutherford on speed. He can’t stand still, and is shouting lots of things in German, none of which I understand. I think he’s saying: “attack.”
@michaelbutler18 Pep's probably saying: 'why, in America, do you have to tip a batman for pouring you a drink?'
— Ian McCourt (@ianmccourt) March 16, 2016
Updated
79 min: Buffon again relieves the pressure for Juventus, coming to claim a cross. At least Bayern have finally found a route to goal: get the ball wide and into the box!
@michaelbutler18 best keeper in the world? Neuer may not even be the best keeper in this match!
— Pete Mumola (@nolecat34) March 16, 2016
77 min: Vidal tries his luck from range, but he’s way off target. That is poor decision making from the Chilean. You’re not beating Buffon from there anyway.
74 min: For the first time in this match, Juventus are looking nervy, simply hacking the ball clear whenever they get it. A relentless stream of Bayern attacks await. The home crowd have found their voice, too. One more Bayern goal, and we’ll have extra time!
71' #Juventus substitution: Huge applause from our fans as @AlvaroMorata makes way for @MarioMandzukic9. Brilliant game from our Spaniard.
— JuventusFC (@juventusfcen) March 16, 2016
Updated
GOAL! Bayern Munich 1-2 Juventus (Lewandowski 72, 3-4 agg)
Bayern score – you guessed it – from a cross. Coman does exceptionally well to chase down a ball he had no right to get from the byline, cuts the ball back to Douglas Costa, and the Brazilian delivers a wicked dipping cross to the back post, which Lewandowski nods home. Game on!
Updated
70 min: Yellow card for Cuadrado, after colliding with Alaba. Bayern meanwhile, continue to have plenty of possession and little end product. With Juve camped on the edge of their box, they need to cross the ball! Stop passing it sideways!
@michaelbutler18 saw this trying to walk the ball into the net before with Pep's FCB against Inter & CFC it didn't work then it won't now
— John McEnerney (@MackerOnTheMed) March 16, 2016
68 min: Penalty shout for Bayern! Lewandowski gets to the byline and cuts the ball back. Bonucci is there yet again to block, but was that with his arm? Lewandowski and Müller certainly think so, but the referee gives a corner, which is terribly taken by Douglas Costa.
67 min: And here comes Juve’s first change: Sturaro, who scored in the first leg, comes on for Khedira. In the library that is the Allianz Arena, you can hear Juve’s fans loud and clear, singing Khedira’s name.
66 min: David Brennan has weighed in on Pep: “Glad to see him gone. Too OCD and not suited to German football plus he destroyed the German heart of the Bayern team. He took over a Champions League winning team and failed three years in a row (all in home legs).”
Updated
64 min: I’m surprised to see this but Juventus are still running as hard as they did in the first half. They surely must run out of steam soon. Perhaps Massimiliano Allegri will make a change soon.
62 min: Juventus are sitting increasingly deeper. Bernat has a snapshot inside the Juve box but there are just too many bodies, and Hernanes hacks the ball clear.
60 min: Bayern make their second change: Coman coming on for Xabi Alonso. The former Juventus youngster set up three of Bayern’s five goals at the weekend against Werder Bremen.
59 min: If Juventus don’t progress here, they will be kicking themselves. As well as Morata has played, he has also missed three gilt-edged chances, whilst Cuadrado also should have buried his chance at the end of the first half. What’s more, replays from another angle show that Morata’s disallowed goal earlier was actually onside!
57 min: Two golden chances for Morata! Both are all his own work: first he outpaces and strong-arms Alaba (just what is going on with the Austrian tonight?!) cuts past Kimmich but his left-footed shot is straight at Neuer. Not a minute later, Morata is at it again, this time cutting on his right foot, ghosting past Lahm and shooting on goal from eight yards out. It is deflected over, owing to a last-ditch slide tackle from Alaba. It was a certain goal if the Bayern defender didn’t get anything on it.
55 min: Meanwhile, in Barcelona, the comeback is on! Sort of. Arsenal’s Mohamed Elneny has scored an absolute peach of a goal to make it 1-1 on the night, and 3-1 on aggregate. Follow the action with Scott Murray, if you are foolish enough to turn away from this game:
53 min: Yet another yellow card! Bonucci this time after he took matters into his own hands to stop a dangerous Bayern counter-attack.
“Whilst he might now be past his very best, surely only the hardest of hearts would deny Gigi Buffon a UCL winners medal before he retires- aside from anything else, have you ever noticed just how happy he looks when he’s doing the pre-match pleasantries?! What a guy!
Hardened regards (in keeping with the Morrissey references)
James A. Crane”
51 min: Lewandowski, who was winded moments earlier after a collision with Alex Sandro, catches Evra from behind. He’s the latest to go into the book, despite the protests from the Pole.
49 min: Just as in the first half, Juventus are the far better team in these opening moment of the second half. First to everything and Alex Sandro is giving Lahm something to think about on the left with some of that Brazilian flair. Dragback + flick = woof.
47 min: The latin blood is up! Vidal and Cuadrado go for a 50/50 ball, both go studs up and although there is little to no contact, Vidal stands over Cuadrado wagging his finger angrily and telling the Colombian exactly what he thinks. Yellow card. Handbags ensue, and in the aftermath, Lichtsteiner is also shown a yellow card.
Updated
Peeeeeep! We’re off again. Bayern have made one change: Bernat coming on for Benatia, who had a torrid time against Pogba and Morata in that first half.
Fact attack: tonight’s referee, Jonas Eriksson, is one of the richest people on the pitch: he’s worth about £6m, after selling his stake in a sports media rights business in 2011.
Makes you wonder what Bayern will do once they get a decent manager in …
“Jupp Heynckes >> Pep Guardiola.... it’s time to discuss.” emails D.Hindle.
@michaelbutler18 Pep being found out again in the CL, easy 2 win the league not having a plan b in the CL is criminal. Juve 2 shut up shop.
— John McEnerney (@MackerOnTheMed) March 16, 2016
Updated
Half-time reading:
Cuadrado has been just one of the star performers in this first half. Something from the archives: here’s how he made his way to Italy (before signing for Chelsea last year)
Half-time: Bayern Munich 0-2 Juventus (2-4 agg)
If Juventus score one more goal in the second half, Bayern will have to score FOUR to make it through to the last eight.
Bayern playing like a bunch of kittens who've just seen a cat ghost. Juventus can definitely win this.
— Sachin Nakrani (@SachinNakrani) March 16, 2016
Monster half from Juve. Zombie half from Bayern.
— Raphael Honigstein (@honigstein) March 16, 2016
Updated
45 min: One minute added on here. I don’t want this to end.
43 min: Juventus should be 3-0 up! It’s so easy for Juventus going forward, a simple ball up the line to Pogba, and the Frenchman is able to cut inside in the Bayern box and roll the ball across Neuer’s six-yard box. It misses everyone but Cuardrado, who comes steaming in at the back post and smashes a shot goalwards from three yards out. It somehow stays out, a combination of Neuer and the post saving Bayern. Wow.
41 min: Great save by Buffon! Bayern’s first real chance, and it fell to Lewandowski, who has been deathly quiet these 41 minutes. But the ball breaks to the Pole in the box, and he shoots hard and low from around the penalty spot. Buffon is equal to it, the ball rebounding back out. Barzagli slides to hook the ball clear, inadvertently hoofs it against the midriff of Lewandowski and the ball bounces a yard wide. Close!
39 min: Douglas Costa shoots on goal, and this time it’s on target, so Bonucci put his face in the way. What a spartan.
37 min: Morata is booked for a high foot on Kimmich. Replays show the youngster took a hefty boot to the face. Ouch. I said pre-match that Kimmich was susceptible to a bit of rough, and that’s exactly what Juventus are giving him.
35 min: Douglas Costa is doing his best Arjen Robben impression, cutting in off the right flank and firing a powerful left-foot shot at goal. He’s missed the target on three occasions now.
33 min: “Not a chance is Neuer the best ‘keeper in the world at the moment,” replies Philip Wainwright. “I’d have Keylor Navas, De Gea and maybe even Lloris in ahead.”
“I think De Gea is very under-appreciated for his ball distribution, and he’s an excellent source for starting a rare United attack,” notes Stanley Wu. “Not as fancy as Neuer’s gung-ho dribbles, but very effective nonetheless.”
31 min: This is perhaps the most complete performance I have seen all season. Bayern look lost. Everybody in a black and white shirt is running their socks off, everyone seems 100% sure of their job tactically, and when the chances have presented themselves, Juventus have been clinical. It’s been a joy to watch so far.
Khedira, it transpires, was given a yellow card for doing his laces up inside the centre-circle when Bayern were re-stating play. Very harsh, that.
“Bet Chelsea are glad they go rid of Cuadrado,” emails Ruth Purdue. “What composure he had. But is is all about Morata, that goal.”
Updated
GOAL! Bayern Munich 0-2 Juventus (Cuadrado 28, 2-4 agg)
WHAT. A. GOAL. Counter-attacking football at it’s best, as Khedira robs Lewandowski on his own 18-yard-line, gives the ball to Morata and the Spaniard just starts to run. And run and run and run and run. The Spaniard dribbles in a straight line through the spine of Bayern, shrugging off Alaba, cutting past Benatia and at the perfect moment as Kimmich comes across, he releases Cuadrado with a clever reverse ball. The Colombian has all the time in the world to shoot past Neuer, but instead cuts back inside the retreating Lahm, and cooly sidefoots inside the near post just when you thought he had left it too late. Juventus are 2-0 up and they deserve it. Pep’s face is a picture. He looks genuinely dumbfounded.
“What if Meesi had scored that?” asks Millesh Mohankumar. “The world would’ve gone bonkers! That really was a cool headed amazing finish.
Updated
25 min: Juventus defending deep in front of the own penalty box, no space for Müller, Costa or Lewandowski to operate. Juventus happy to attack on the counter attack.
Serious lack of space in the final third at the moment. Keep working hard, lads. Find the gap! #FCBJuve 0-1 pic.twitter.com/pxA8BmDPQl
— FC Bayern English (@FCBayernEN) March 16, 2016
22 min: Morata has the ball in Bayern’s net … but he is judged to be offside! Bayern are far too casual pinging the ball around at the back and another nervy Neuer clearance rebounds off Khedira into Morata’s path. The striker cooly lifts the ball over Neuer into the net, replays show he was only a yard offside from that rebound. Lucky Bayern!
Updated
20 min: Costa catches Evra with a flailing arm under a high ball. Free-kick. Juventus have been perfect this first 20 years. Bayern are seriously rattled.
18 min: Alaba, as is his wont, is playing very high. He’s playing at left-back tonight remember, not centre-back, and there is plenty of space for Cuadrado to exploit on the counter-attack should he get the chance.
16 min: “There’s the classic once every other month inexplicable error from Neuer,” emails Bryan Tisinger. “I don’t watch too much of Bayern or Germany, but I always see Neuer make a few crazy errors every year that are easily preventable. Most of them occur because he refuses to use his hands sometimes. As a Liverpool supporter, I thought for a second I was watching Simon Mignolet in goal, especially with Bayern in all red.”
Is he still the best goalkeeper in the world? This might be a UK-centric view, but surely David de Gea is giving the big German a run for his money?
Send any thoughts to michael.butler@theguardian.com or tweet @michaelbutler18.
Updated
14 min: Chance for Morata! Alex Sandro gets free on the left touchline, dinks a bouncing ball through to Morata, who is playing on the shoulder of Bayern’s defence. It’s a difficult ball to control and the angle in tight, and Juve’s striker can only volley the ball over Neuer’s bar.
12 min: Pogba catches Kimmich with a high elbow, but it’s not malicious and the referee just blows for a foul.
10 min: Ribery gets some room at the back post but he can only turn his effort well over the bar. Bayern are finally beginning to assert themselves, enjoying possession inside Juventus’ half – Juventus’ pressing in the opening 10 minutes was relentless. They surely can’t keep this up.
8 min: What a start! The replays show that Neuer was far too zealous in coming off his line and should have stayed put. That said, it was a cool finish from Pogba. Buffon, for the record, went absolutely postal celebrating in front of the Juventus fans up the other end of the field.
@guardian_sport @michaelbutler18 Forza Juve! 🇮🇹 ◾️◽️◾️◽️◾️◽️◾️ #bianconeri #lavecchiasignora #BayernJuve
— Manny Matharu (@Manny261) March 16, 2016
GOAL! Bayern Munich 0-1 Juventus (Pogba 6, 2-3 agg)
Juventus take the lead on the night, and in the tie! I said Pogba was playing further forward than he normally does and it pays off: after Morata capitalised on a miscue from Alaba, the Spaniard’s shot ricochets off Neuer, and Pogba is there to collect the rebound, sidefooting the ball into an empty net through a crowd of scrambling Bayern defenders.
Updated
5 min: Juventus have lined up in a 4-5-1 formation, with Alex Sandro and Cuadrado playing on either flank. Pogba has started the game more as a No10, tucked in behind Morata.
3 min: Brilliant, brilliant ball from Costa, as he thread the eye of the needle and dissects the Juventus defence with a fizzing pass, but Vidal, all alone and through on goal, can’t control the ball and Buffon gratefully pounces on the ball. That was Joel Campbell-esque from Costa.
1 min: Morata is full of beans and he closes down Neuer, who uncharacteristically boots the ball out of play for a throw in. #flustered
Peeeeep peeeeep! And we’re off!
109 - Juve's starting eleven have scored a combined 14 @ChampionsLeague goals, Bayern's starting11 have scored 109. Difference. #FCBJuve
— OptaFranz (@OptaFranz) March 16, 2016
Updated
The teams are out! It’s that time!
Bayern in all red, Juventus in their famous black and white.
Updated
9 games, 9 wins at home in the #UCL. Let's make it ten during #FCBJuve and march into the quarter final! #packmas pic.twitter.com/oEcZWlYuh4
— FC Bayern English (@FCBayernEN) March 15, 2016
Bayern’s home form in Europe isn’t too shabby. Lewandowski has scored nine goals in his last nine Champions League games, although he has never scored against Buffon.
One last plug for this excellent feature on Bonucci by Blair Newman. Features the story of Bonucci punching an armed robber inside a Ferrari (what else?) car dealership and the time that he spent hours eating garlic sweets just so that he would have bad breath to put off Totti and Gervinho during Juventus v Roma. If that isn’t commitment to the cause, I don’t know what it.
The 28-year-old, in the absence of Chiellini tonight, will have to keep out of his skin to keep Müller and co at bay.
It was Paul Pogba’s birthday yesterday – he is now 23 years old, gulp – and Bayern Munich sent their regards. With Dybala missing through injury, Pogba is arguably Juventus’ most pivotal player tonight, and his battle with former Juve hero Vidal in the middle of that midfield will be crucial if the Italian team are to get anything from the game.
Happy Birthday to @juventusfcen's Pogba. Enjoy the celebrations now, we plan to spoil the party tomorrow 😉 #FCBJuve pic.twitter.com/8fT1YGxLIm
— FC Bayern English (@FCBayernEN) March 15, 2016
If you haven’t read Raphael Honigstein’s interview with David Alaba, then do.
If nothing else, you will find out that David’s DJ’ing father, George Alaba, released this hit in 1997. What an absolute banger.
As discussed, both teams are hit by injuries. Robben is OUT! He’s got a cold. Pep has recalled Medhi Benatia in central defencea longside Kimmich, which means that David Alaba is punted out to the left. Despite scoring two of Bayern’s five goals against Werder Bremen at the weekend, Thiago is left on the bench.
Mandzukic is not quite fit enough to start against his former club – he limped off in the 1-0 win over Sassuolo on Friday night – and so Morata starts up top for the Bianconeri. Shame that, as I think Mandzukic’s physicality and work rate could definitely have got to Kimmich, who stands just 5ft7in.
Updated
The teams are in!
Bayern Munich: Neuer, Lahm, Kimmich, Benatia, Alaba, Alonso, Douglas Costa, Muller, Vidal, Ribery, Lewandowski.
Subs: Ulreich, Thiago, Rafinha, Bernat, Gotze, Rode, Coman.
Juventus: Buffon, Lichtsteiner, Barzagli, Bonucci, Evra, Khedira, Pogba, Cuadrado, Hernanes, Alex Sandro, Morata.
Subs: Neto, Zaza, Mandzukic, Asamoah, Rugani, Sturaro, Pereyra.
Referee: Jonas Eriksson (Sweden)
Updated
Preamble
Welcome to the best football match of the night. That’s right folks, forget Barcelona v Arsenal: there’s no point, it’s already finished, está terminado. You can watch the Messi highlights reel later. You’ll have to get your St Johnstone v Ross County updates somewhere else. Welcome to snowy Bavaria where we’ve got two juggernauts, both top of their league, both in the form of their lives: Bayern Munich and Juventus. Oh yes, make no mistake, this Champions League last-16 second leg is – like a light that Morrissey kept banging on about – ON.
That’s because unlike events that are about to unfold in Catalonia, this tie is very much in the balance, thanks to a first-leg second half in which Bayern, 2-0 up in Turin, continuously fluffed their lines in front of goal and uncharacteristically let in two the other end, with Juve’s Paulo Dybala and Stefano Sturaro salvaging a 2-2 draw for the Old Lady.
Bayern Munich will still fancy themselves as the favourites. They have the away goals, they have home advantage, they have Pep Guardiola. But what they might not have is a one Arjen Robben – who scored the most Arjen Robben goal of all time in the first leg, an R2 Fifa special, cutting in on off the right flank, feinting to shoot a couple of times before … you know the rest – who is a doubt with a cold. A cold. Holger Badstuber, Javi Martinez and Jerome Boateng are all out, meaning that David Alaba and the young-but-impressive Joshua Kimmich – look set for another night in central defence together.
Juventus, meanwhile, have doubts and absentees of their own. Their best defender Giorgio Chiellini and arguably their most potent attacker Paulo Dybala are notably joined on the sidelines by Claudio Marchisio and Martín Cáceres. Ouch. Gianluigi Buffon will have to live up to his Superman tag to keep Robert Lewandowski, Thomas Müller and Douglas Costa at bay but for a man that hasn’t conceded in the last 10 Serie A matches – 926 minutes – that might not be an impossible task. Juve only need one more clean sheet, one more goal and they are through.
Kick-off: 7.45pm GMT, 8.45pm in Munich
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