Bayern Munich pushed Barcelona out of the Champions League

The Bavarians outclassed their Catalan opponents in a manner rarely seen, and with a four-goal advantage to take into the second leg, are surely favorites for a Wembley place. Bayern Munich have one foot firmly in the UEFA Champions League final at Wembley after demolishing a below-par Barcelona 4-0 in the first leg of their semi-final showdown at the Allianz Arena. 

With Lionel Messi appearing to suffer from an injury, Thomas Mueller headed in at the back post before Mario Gomez scored from close range. Arjen Robben curled into the corner despite Mueller's block on Jordi Alba. Mueller then crowned the shock result by converting David Alaba's cross eight minutes from the end. Barca may have legitimate complaints about Robben's strike after 73 minutes when Alba was taken out by Bayern's opening goalscorer. Nonetheless, on a night when Messi looked a shadow of his normal self after a previous hamstring problem, Bayern were unstoppable and are firmly on course to reach their third final in four years.

LINEUP, BOOKINGS (7) & SUBSTITUTIONS (4)

Bayern Munich

01 Neuer

04 Dante

17 Boateng

21 Lahm

07 Ribery (Shaqiri - 88' )

08 Martinez Booked

10 Robben

25 Mueller (Pizarro - 83' )

27 Alaba

31 Schweinsteiger Booked

33 Gomez Booked (Dias - 71' )

Substitutes

22 Tom Starke

05 Van Buyten

13 Rafinha

11 Shaqiri

30 Dias

44 Tymoschuk

14 Pizarro

Barcelona

01 Valdes

02 Alves

03 Pique

15 Bartra Booked

18 Alba Booked

06 Xavi

08 Iniesta Booked

16 Busquets

09 Sanchez Booked

10 Messi

17 Pedro (Villa - 83' )

Substitutes

13 Pinto

19 Montoya

22 Abidal

04 Fabregas

11 Thiago

25 Song

07 Villa

Ref: V Kassai

Att: 68,000