PEP’S SIX OF THE BEST
Guardiola silences his critics as Bayern run riot and reach semis
THE NEXT time Pep Guardiola feels the need to justify his continued presence in Bavaria — and that time will come — he has some useful numbers to roll out. As of last night, the most pertinent one available to him is 115.
That is the number of goals Guardiola’s Bayern team have scored so far this season, a number plenty enough to take them in to the last four of the Champions League, the final of the German Cup and to the cusp of successive Bundesliga titles.
It’s a funny game, football isn’t it? People can grow restless, unhappy even, pretty quickly. As Guardiola said on the eve of this undressing of porous Porto, people are only happy here if Bayern win the treble.
Well, despite the horrors of the 3-1 first-leg defeat in Portugal last week, that remains very much on and the statistics show that Guardiola and his players have indulged in a fair amount of selfexpression along the way.
Guardiola won’t remember all the season’s goals. He won’t remember all of the seven Bayern scored against Roma and against Shakhtar, the eight they plundered at home to Hamburg or the six they put past SC Paderborn.
The Spaniard will remember the half dozen his team scored here last night, though.
He will remember them — especially the five that came in a brutal, spellbinding opening half — because they will be set against the background of last week’s defeat and the disgruntlement that followed. Questions were asked about his own future and Bayern’s club doctor walked out, slamming the door behind him.
By half-time last night, though, those matters seemed rather distant already and that is what brilliant football does. It makes people forget the small details. That, in a way, is the whole point of sport.
Certain Bayern’s rather entitled supporters will have seen little better than this over the years. Not just because of the quality of the football but because of the context and because of the sheer hunger and forward drive of this team.
‘I knew my players could do this,’ said Guardiola. ‘But this was not perfect. We can still improve.’
Having started so badly in the first leg last week — Bayern were two down early — they needed to reverse things quickly. After 23 minutes they were two goals up and, from that point on, the contest was no longer valid. Lewandowski had already struck the post when Bayern took the lead, left back Juan Bernat crossing to the near post for Thiago Alcantara to thump in a header.
The goal served to break the tension and as Porto failed to settle, Bayern began a hypnotic and relentless journey through the gears.
A shot from Thomas Muller was saved by Fabiano soon after but that proved a rare moment of competence for the Porto goalkeeper. He had a poor night and was beaten for the second time midway through the half when Jerome Boateng glanced a header in by the post after a corner.
At this point, Bayern were already mathematically through. Porto needed to score to maintain an interest but were too skittish, too panicked and too intent in arguing with referee Martin Atkinson to ever get a foothold in a game that quickly galloped away from them.
The third goal arrived soon after — Lewandowski finishing first time after Philipp Lahm had set him up beautifully — and then a massacre seemed in the offing.
A drive from Muller then struck Casemiro and span through Fabiano’s flapping legs in the 36th minute. Then Lewandowski struck again, teasing two defenders before arrowing a perfect shot in to the corner with his right foot.
Half-time found the Portuguese on their knees and they crawled to the dressing room. Beyond that, Bayern lost some momentum and Porto even scored a goal, Jackson Martinez heading in.
On the touchline, however,
Guardiola’s greatest inconvenience was a split to the seam of his suit trousers. As time wore on, he continued to instruct his players feverishly. At times he must be exhausting to play for.
In the stands here, meanwhile, Manchester City’s football director Txiki Begiristain looked on covetously as Xabi Alonso curled in a free-kick at the death after the dismissal of Ivan Marcano. City, as we know, could do with a man like Pep. They are not alone.