“Barca can’t cope with intensity” – Bayern Munich star delights at victory
Bayern Munich forward Thomas Muller has stated their opponents struggled with his side’s constant pressure in their dominant 3-0 win.
Barcelona came into the final matchday needing to better Benfica’s result in order to avoid the humiliation of an early exit. Bayern were in no mood for charity though and played close to their best eleven, despite having topped the group. Muller, Leroy Sane and Jamal Musiala scored to send Die Roten into an unassailable 3-0 lead after 62 minutes.
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Muller told DAZN after the match: “I think Barça can’t cope with the intensity.
“Technically, they have it all, they are great players tactically and technically.
“But they can’t cope with the intensity in top football.”
Bayern’s coach Julian Nagelsmann saw his side breeze to victory despite being without Leon Goretzka and Joshua Kimmich in midfield.
He said: “It is also important that we played to a shutout today, that is always chalked on us a bit.
“I think we conceded three goals in the group phase, scored 22 — already a good number.
“We played against an opponent who, of course, has a very big name and actually had to win today.
“We have never really let it unfold properly. In the second half, we clearly defended deeper and let them have the ball a little more, but I believe that if we put it on properly, then we could have scored significantly more goals than three.”
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Nagelsmann states debt is affecting Barca
Bayern’s coaching prodigy went declared that he felt Barcelona’s financial struggles were taking their toll on the pitch.
Before the thrashing of Barcelona, Nagelsmann said he saw similarities with Pep Guardiola’s Barca side.
He said: “I believe this immense mountain of debt simply hovers over the club.
“They may not be able to do what Barcelona typically does on the transfer market. When you just have 1.5 billion in debt — I don’t think it’s a pleasant way to go through life.”
“Xavi and his team haven’t had many training sessions, but I’ve seen differences.
“With Xavi they defend higher. The pressure after they lose the ball is also different, very brave, very high, like it was during Pep’s time. It leaves space but also makes it difficult to play through the press. We’ll see how we counter their pressure.”
The draw for the next round of the Champions League takes place on Monday. The German club can draw any of Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Sporting Lisbon, Inter Milan, Salzburg, Chelsea and the one of Atalanta or Villarreal.
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