This was nothing short of a disaster for Chelsea. They ended up with 10 men, a key midfielder suspended for the second leg and a three-goal deficit which surely puts this tie beyond them already at just the halfway stage.
Frank Lampard has spent much of this season bemoaning Chelsea’s profligacy in front of goal but there was no such misfortune here; just a side thoroughly outclassed which, in the end, lost their discipline too.
After the Blues their own in the first half, Bayern found their clinical touch in a devastating spell which began with Jorginho’s needless booking for dissent.
The Italian was arguing a challenge on the halfway in a manner French referee Clement Turpin took umbrage with – a frankly idiotic way to get a yellow card which rules him out of the trip to Germany.
That was nothing, however, compared with Marcos Alonso’s 83rd-minute red card for swinging an arm into Robert Lewandowski’s face.
In between, Bayern’s three goals were wonderful in their composition and execution. Serge Gnabry struck twice, both from Lewandowski passes, before the Polish striker got in on the act himself, converting Alphonso Davies’ pinpoint cross.
Chelsea will need the produce the performance of their lives in Munich to even make this a contest.
And what may frustrate Lampard the most is how quickly they unravelled with two of the team’s more experienced players guilty of petulant acts that undermined their efforts.
Nothing could hide the gulf in quality, however. This tie evoked memories of the 2012 final but only one side looked capable of reaching that level again.
Few expected Chelsea to advance a long way in the knockout stages, but that won’t have made how far off they are from the required level any less painful to watch.
