BLUES ARE ZAPPED BY A POWER SERGE
Arsenal old boy Gnabry sums up big gulf in class
CHELSEA were hit by a smash and Gnab as brilliant Bayern Munich placed one foot into the Champions League quarter-finals.
Ex-Arsenal winger Serge Gnabry left the 10-man Blues in pieces with two goals in three second-half minutes shortly after the break.
Robert Lewandowski added a third with 14 minutes left as Frank Lampard’s men were outclassed.
The German champions’ fans taunted the home supporters with chants of “Football’s Coming Home” as their team dominated.
Chelsea left-back Marcos Alonso capped a wretched night for his side when he was sent off – courtesy of VAR – for striking Lewandowski with eight minutes left.
Lampard admitted: “The performance was poor and sometimes you have to be
CHELSEA .... 0 BAYERN M .... 3
brutally honest. They outclassed us in every department and it’s quite sobering.
“We have to take it on the chin and work towards getting back to the levels we want to be at.”
This was a night of torture for Lampard. With Kingsley Coman on the right, Gnabry out left and Thomas Muller just behind Lewandowski, the Bayern forward line is one to match any in Europe.
Coman hit the side-netting, Muller smacked a 20-yard shot inches wide and twice Lewandowski was denied by keeper Willy Caballero.
Muller’s clever back-header also crashed against the bar as Bayern dominated the first half. Chelsea had to wait until the 43rd minute before forcing Manuel Neuer into serious action as Alonso’s low drive was beaten away by the Bayern keeper. That was as good as it got for Lampard’s side.
Then Gnabry took centre stage. The first goal came after 51 minutes as Bayern swept forward. Cesar Azpilicueta slipped and left a gap for Gnabry to run forward and play in Lewandowski.
The Pole’s perfect return set up Gnabry who fired home the opener from close range. The next goal came three minutes later through the same classy combination. Gnabry swapped passes with Lewandowski before slotting past Caballero into the far corner
It got even worse after 76 minutes as the impressive Bayern left-back Alphonso Davies escaped down the flank and sent over a low cross for Lewandowski to steer home his 39th goal of the season.
Chelsea’s humiliation was complete when VAR upgraded Alonso’s yellow to red after his arm caught Lewandowski.