MATCH REPORT: FA Cup Final 2015

The FA Cup is a brilliant way for any club to end the season and Arsenal know that feeling after being victorious in this very match last season. Aston Villa also know this feeling from years gone by, but they wanted to prove a point to their doubters this season. They went into the game as the underdog which would probably suit the team, but some believed that they would be strong enough to possibly create a shock result to give their season an uplift after poor results at the end of their season.

Although they were the underdogs, Villa weren't about to roll over and just let Arsenal have the ball in the opening stages of the game. Their defensive work was together and the whole team was getting behind the ball but when given the chance they proved a threat to be reckoned with. However, even though their build up play was very good they didn't have a shot on target to reflect this, never mind a goal. 

It was Arsenal who had the first clear cut chance of the game. Arsenal won a free kick and Alexis Sanchez took it and out a brilliant cross into the box. Laurent Koscielny got up well above his marker and aimed the ball towards the left side of the net. Shay Given produced a brilliant one handed reflex save to keep the scores level, but Arsenal were certainly beginning to look the more dangerous. Five minutes later, Mesut Ozil won the ball back from Fabian Delph on the halfway line and pushed forward with a lot of pace. The ball he put into the box wasn't great but Ron Vlaar made a mess of the clearance which allowed Aaron Ramsey to have a chance to put Arsenal in the lead but his shot was wild and it went high over the crossbar. 

Arsenal remained on the front foot for the rest of the first half an hour and they looked particularly dangerous in front of goal. Ozil, playing down the left during this move, crossed the ball into Theo Walcott who had a chance from point blank range. The build up play once again was good by Arsenal and the resulting shot was stopped when Kieran Richardson literally threw his body onto the line to block the powerful shot. Minutes later, Ramsey beat the offside trap, but wasn't left in the clear because Vlaar stuck with him all the way. However, he did manage to cutely curl the ball around the defender and get it on target, but Given was perfectly placed the hold the ball. 

Villa got their first chance just after the half hour mark after Fabian Delph was allowed room to get a good cross into the box. In the centre of the box was a cluster of players and Delph aimed for the penalty spot hoping at least one of them could get their head to the ball. None of them did though as Wojciech Szczesny came off his line with the aim to clear the ball but he misjudged his punch, but luckily got away with it as his defenders cleared their lines. 

The next move left Villa wishing they'd taken that last chance. 5 minutes before half time Nacho Monreal kept himself onside and chipped the ball back towards the far post from the very edge of the pitch. Sanchez made a strong leap and beat his man to head the ball back towards the near post where Walcott was waiting. He took the volley on his weaker foot and clearly slotted it past Given to give Arsenal the advantage at the break. 

It was a cruel time in the game for Villa to have conceded the goal and even after half time they just couldn't get themselves going again. They seemed to have lost the energy and togetherness they had during the first half. Arsenal, however, came out of the blocks quickly and were causing Villa a lot of problems from the very beginning. And they capitalised on this. From well outside the box, Sanchez created space for himself by running Tom Cleverley back on himself before he rifled a swerving shot that grazed the bottom of the crossbar and high above the keeper before it rolled down the back of the net. He left the keeper no chance and doubled his side's lead with style. 

Villa did look like they could get themselves a goal though as they pushed forward with a lot of pace and integrity after the second goal was scored but again, their end ball just wasn't good enough to cause the Arsenal defence any major problems. Szczesny did look very uneasy in the Arsenal goal though. He hadn't played that many games in the latter half of the season and he looked particularly nervous whenever Villa piled bodies into the box. Due to him missing a couple of punches, one of which was an easy take, he lost some confidence and was less keen to come off his line to collect the ball; something the Villa team probably should have tried to exploit more often. 

They didn't though, and just after the hour mark, Per Mertesacker pretty much finished it for Arsenal. Villa will have been disappointed as the goal came from a corner which they should have dealt with a lot better. The corner was swung into the middle of the box and originally Christian Benteke was marking Mertesacker. Mertesacker shrugged off Benteke quite easily though which allowed him just enough room to get up and glance the ball into the back of the net and past Given who was caught off guard as he expected his teammate to deal with the set piece a lot better. 

Both teams had a number of chances after this, but both knew that it was already over. Once again though, after conceding another goal, Villa suddenly sprung to life and regained some of their belief. On the 80th minute, Gabriel Agbonlahor made a darting run into the box, but before he reached it Francis Coquelin brought him down on the very edge of the box. The referee rightly waved the penalty shouts away, but Villa did have an extremely good case for a free kick. It may not have made any difference to the outcome of the game, but it could have given their fans a reason to cheer on their miserable afternoon at Wembley. 

Then, right on the death, Arsenal made the result even crueller as they truly finished it. The three substitutes combined together to add a fourth goal to this tally with the final touch of the game. Jack Wilshere did well to keep the ball in play on the far right side of the pitch and played a short ball to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. He was just onside and played a square ball across to Olivier Giroud who was left with a simple tap in to round off a brilliant evening for Arsenal. 

So, Arsenal retained their trophy deservedly after a dominating performance over Villa. They threw everything they had at their opponents and on the night it came off for them and Villa's luck seemed to have truly died out at the wrong time in their season. They tried their best though, but Arsenal were certainly the better team on the night. Also, this FA Cup win puts Arsenal at the very top of the list of the most FA Cup trophy wins, effectively overtaking Manchester United. It was a brilliant competition this season, throwing up more shocks in one weekend than people have seen in a very long time. Who doesn't love the FA Cup? 

Premier League: Final Day

At the beginning of the season, whenever somebody reads down for the last matches of the season and sees a date like 'May 24th', it seems like it's a long time away. However, the season is one that goes quick, just like any other time period and it leaves fans and teams alike wondering where all the time went. It also marks the moment when teams can either celebrate or feel the weight of the world fall onto their shoulders. Just like any other last game, this is what it proved to be for so many people. 

Both Burnley and QPR had already been relegated prior to the final weekend, but both would want to go out with a good result that would give their moral a boost ahead of the awaiting Championship campaign. It seemed that since Burnley had been relegated, they felt a lot of pressure lift off them as their results improved, and the final day was another example of this. They faced Aston Villa away, and they faced a tough task as the home team looked completely different to the one they faced earlier in the season due to Tim Sherwood. It was their star man Danny Ings that created the headlines once again after his sixth minute goal gave Burnley the three points that ended their season on a high note. 

For QPR, the story couldn't have ended more tragically. The faced Leicester away from home and that would prove to be a big task as well. Everyone thought that Leicester would be the ones that would be panicking about the last result, but they somehow managed to claw themselves away from danger with relatively little struggle after laying at the bottom of the table for the majority of the season. Leicester certainly ended their season in style after turning 5 goals past Alex McCarthy in the QPR goal to heap the misery on the already relegated team. Charlie Austin did step up and give QPR a consolation goal though after Leicester's fourth, but that's all it proved to be in the end. 

The other two teams in danger of relegation going into the final match were Hull City and Newcastle. Hull needed a win to stand a chance of staying up and if this happened, Newcastle would need a win, but otherwise they would only need to match their result. Hull faced Manchester United at home and gave their all throughout the game. They did have the ball in the back of the net twice, but both were rightly ruled offside. They also looked like they had been handed a gift when Marouane Fellaini got sent off for a stomp on Paul McShane's leg not even 20 minutes after he was sent onto the pitch. The home team couldn't take advantage of this though, and the game ended as a draw, making them the third team to be relegated this season. 

Newcastle faced West Ham at home, which looked like it would be a tough fixture for them after the poor run of form that they have had in the latter end of the season. However, it was like a completely different team was sent onto the pitch on Sunday because Newcastle knew they needed a result to stay in the Premier League. Moussa Sissoko got them the first goal 10 minutes into the second half, but this was overshadowed by the second goal in so many ways. Jonas Gutierrez, who not so long ago didn't look like he would be playing football again for a while, stepped up and wrapped up the three points for Newcastle in what could potentially have been his last game for Newcastle. This was the result that confirmed Hull's relegation, as it took them out of reach. However, West Ham did receive some good news in the shape of Europa League qualifiers due to finishing top of the Fair Play league. 

Then, there was the shock result of the day. Steven Gerrard had already said his farewell to Anfield the previous week, but this was the game that marked his last as a Premier League player. They faced a Stoke team that a lot of fans would expect them to beat to give Gerrard a send off very different to his one at the Liverpool stadium. It just wasn't meant to be though. Stoke held nothing back as they hit Liverpool for 6, 5 of which came in the first half alone. Gerrard was the player that brought one back for Liverpool to reduce the deficit slightly. Peter Crouch then came onto the pitch and made sure that his old team didn't have the last say in the game, marking a devastating end for the Liverpool captain. 

Although everything at the top of the table had been decided, Chelsea rounded of their winning season in style. Although, Sunderland did take the lead and give the champions a scare, their top players were once again on hand to rack up the three points expected of them. Manchester City also cruised to a 2-0 over Southampton, which included a goal for Sergio Aguero who won the golden boot for the 14/15 season. Joe Hart was also among the awards as he kept his 14th clean sheet of the season to win his 4th golden glove. Arsenal and Theo Walcott in particular shone in a 4-1 over West Brom to allow the top three to show their strength one last time before they sign out for the summer. 

MATCH REPORT: Manchester United vs Arsenal

This game could be the one that determined which team finished in third in the Premier League table. If Manchester United won the games, they would leapfrog their opposition ahead of the last weekend, but a result other than that would see their playoff place in the Champions League confirmed, meaning Arsenal would have the knowledge of sitting safe in third even with two games left to play. 

In the opening exchanges, it was Arsenal that were keeping the ball and being smart with the possession that they had. If they got the chance to push forward, they would do so, but they didn't have any quality in the final third where it mattered the most. This didn't last long though, as it didn't take United, or Ashley Young in particular, to get into their stride. Young created some space for himself after cutting onto his right foot and decided to take on the shot himself, but it was blazed high over the crossbar. He did have the option of Marouane Fellaini in the middle of the box, which was probably the better option. 

Young is on hand to cause Arsenal some more problems when he delivered a fine ball from a corner which Marcos Rojo did well to get up to meet and flicked it on for Chris Smalling. The captain had a lot of space on the edge of the area and he chested it down to take the shot on the half volley but it was deflected behind by an Arsenal defender. United had the chance to cause even more bother for the Arsenal defence after Juan Mata won a free kick on the edge of the area and he took it. He tried to curl it up and around the wall and it was on target to nestle in the bottom left corner, but David Ospina got down well to hold onto the ball. 

Arsenal did look like they could get a goal in the game though. Alexis Sanchez made a couple of good runs towards the United box, but the United defenders weren't allowing him much space to get his passes in. Olivier Giroud also made some good runs that caused Phil Jones a lot of problems, including an instance that caused a mix up between the defender and David de Gea, as Jones passed the ball back as de Gea was coming out of his box to clear it. They did manage to sort it out, much to their relief, as de Gea stuck out his leg and the ball rebounded off it and out of play. Ospina was constantly trying to play the long ball up to Giroud, but between Jones and Daley Blind, they managed to cut out any attempt of this pass every time they tried it.

It was United that made the first break through though. It did take until the half hour mark, but it was Young that was causing all sorts of problems for the Arsenal defence once again. The ball was played across to Young on the left by Fellaini, who then made a run into the centre of the box which pulled the defenders towards him. Young did well to miss out all of the defenders in the box and the ball landed with Ander Herrera who was left unmarked at the far post. All that was left for him to do was side foot the ball into the back of the net and get it past Ospina, which he did easily, even though the keeper was quickly closing down the space he had to aim at. 

Young came back for more minutes later as he made another run down the left wing. He decided to take on his defender, who he got the better of, and cut the ball back for Mata on the edge of the box, but the pass was played just behind him. This allowed Arsenal to push forward and try and create something on the counter attack, and it looked promising. Mesut Ozil bought his team some time by holding the ball up around the edge of the box and as the move was coming to a close, a mix up happened between him and Giroud which saw the chance go to waste. 

Young had another decent opportunity to put in a good ball from another set piece, this time which Fellaini won. Instead of crossing the ball, he got the better of the Arsenal defence again by pulling the ball back to Blind who was waiting around the penalty spot with no one around him. He hit the shot well, but Smalling was in the way of the shot and it deflected off his team mate and back into open play. This was the final chance of the first half, and the beginning of the second half saw a change in fortune for the away side as they finally managed to find their feet in the game. 

Giroud, who had suffered a frustrating first half, came out for the second and began to win a lot more aerial duels with the two players marking him. He managed to flick on the ball to Sanchez who made a run towards goal along the left side of the box, but when he eventually took the shot, the ball cleared the crossbar. At the other end though, Arsenal's defending didn't improve. United had a few attempts which followed some great build-up play and Arsenal just couldn't clear their lines. The ball fell to Rojo outside of the area, and he was quickly being closed down so he took on the shot first time, but he didn't hit it cleanly and it fell easily into the gloves of Ospina. 

Giroud managed to create a chance for himself from point blank range as he was left one on one with de Gea, but just as he took on the shot, de Gea got down well to make sure that the ball would be turned past his goal post. Shortly following this attempt, both de Gea and Rojo, who had been having good games, were replaced, with de Gea's definitely being due to an injury. This caused some slight unrest for the United team and Arsenal took full advantage of this when the timing was right. 

The game had become very scrappy at this point, with a few challenges being thrown in to try and prevent the other team from getting through. It was Theo Walcott that came on and made the telling difference towards the end of the 90 minutes for Arsenal though. He made a darting run into the box from the right hand side and was aiming to put a very low cross into the centre of the box where Giroud was stood waiting. However, the ball took a deflection off Tyler Blackett, who hadn't been on the pitch long, and this looped the ball over the head of Victor Valdes, who had no chance of stopping the ball after he'd already moved into position to stop the cross. 

Smalling took it upon himself in his captain's role to try and rally the team to get the win after this point. He kept making runs towards the opposition penalty area, which caused some confusion for the Arsenal defenders, and had a chance from a header, which was aimed directly at Ospina. Robin van Persie also had a chance against his old team to win the points for his current one, but he managed to get his foot caught under the ball and eventually took the ball up and over the crossbar.

So, the two rivals shared out the points for the game after another entertaining contest between the two teams. Although both their places in the Champions League were already confirmed before the kick off, both knew that the bigger prize of no qualifying place was at stake, and Arsenal moved a step closer to this with the draw they earned at Old Trafford. However, it also left the table nicely poised going into the last weekend, because if Arsenal couldn't secure a result in their last two games, United might just pip them to the post in the final moments. 

MATCH REPORT: Bayern Munich vs Barcelona [Champions League]

After the first match in the tie, hopes of playing the final in Berlin for Bayern Munich already looked to be dead and buried due to some wonderful goals from Lionel Messi and Neymar, plus the fact that Barcelona looked strong in the home game, and proved that by coming out of it 3-0 winners against their old manager. However, even those who thought that it was over knew that Bayern Munich would not go down without a good fight. And what a fight it was... 

It didn't take Barcelona long to settle into this game either. The first chance fell to Ivan Rakitic in the first five minutes and he made a good run into the right side of the box which took him away from three Bayern defenders. He tried to make it difficult for the keeper by cutting the ball across to the bottom left corner, but Manuel Neuer got down well to palm the ball away. It wasn't long before Bayern turned it all on its head though.  Minutes after the Rakitic chance, Bayern won a corner that proved to be costly. The ball is swung in and Medhi Benatia was unmarked and got up well to knock his header cleanly into the back of the net at the near post, which Barcelona had chosen not to cover. 

This seemed to be the turning point of Bayern's confidence in the game. Their defending became stronger and they snuffed out any attempts that Barcelona created in the early moments of the game. Bastian Schweinsteiger took on a long range shot in the hopes of catching Marc-Andre ter Stegen out as he was off his line but it went high and wide of the target. However, even chances like this could prove to be big against a team like Barcelona.  

This proved to be true as only a minute after this, Barcelona were up at the other end and scoring the crucial away goal. Messi played a nice through ball up field to Luis Suarez from midfield. He kept running and unselfishly squared the ball across to Neymar when he got into box and Neuer began closing him down. This left Neymar with an empty net to turn the ball into and add another blow to the Bayern team. 

This didn't stop Bayern from playing the way they had planned though. Their build up play remained strong and was quick as they pushed forward to try and regain the lead they had earned so early on. Philipp Lahm put in a good cross from outside the box that looped past the Barcelona defence and was met well by Thomas Muller. His looping header was directed towards the top left corner but ter Stegen got across well to palm the ball away. Not long after, Muller are a run into the box after taking on a number of Barcelona defenders and winning the ball. Just outside the box, he slipped the ball into Robert Lewandowski who pokes the ball towards the centre of the goal where ter Stegen was waiting to save the ball.

Once again, Barcelona weren't ready to just sit around while their defence did all the work. Neymar was allowed a lot of space down the left and he darted into the box to square the box across to Messi, who was surrounded by three Bayern defenders, but he still managed to direct his shot on target, and Neuer saved it comfortably. Neymar did add another goal to his tally moments after this chance. Barcelona cleared from a defensive position and Messi got up well to flick a header behind him to find Suarez, who wasn't challenged as he charged towards the Bayern penalty area. Once again, he unselfishly crossed the ball across to Neymar who chested the ball down and struck the ball low at Neuer's near post. The keeper did get his fingertips to the ball but not enough to stop the goal. Bayern were behind and had an even bigger mountain to climb due to the away goals. 

It was Lewandowski that got the final chance of the half though and he took the shot sweetly on the half volley and put a lot of pace behind the shot which caused ter Stegen some problems. The goalkeeper did get his hand to the shot and managed to take a lot of the pace off the shot even though he was diving in the opposite direction. He didn't stop the shot though, and he did well to get up and get back to claw the ball off the goal line to deny him. That was the last chance Bayern had for a while in the game as Barcelona pressed him in the second half and wouldn't allow them to play out like they wanted to. 

Towards the hour mark, Bayern got back into their rhythm and began to prove a bit too much to handle for the Barcelona defence. From a Bayern throw in, Pedro wasn't bleeding to clear the ball cleanly, meaning the ball deflected into the path of Juan Bernat. He pushed the ball forwards slightly to create a better angle for himself, but ended up aiming it just wide of the post. This only seemed to raise their confidence. 

On the hour mark, Lewandowski finally got what he had been looking for throughout the match. Xabi Alonso did well to win the ball back around the halfway line, before Lewandowski used his skill to work his way past Javier Mascherano after shifting the ball between his feet and wrong footed the keeper as he fired the ball into the net at the far post. Moments after, Alonso did well once again, this time he managed to lay the ball off to Muller who directed his shot just wide of the target. 

Muller was another player that had been chasing a goal in the tie and he again got what his play deserved. He had tried to be unselfish by slipping in Lewandowski, but the pass was deflected when the defender stuck out a leg. The ball kindly deflected back into the path of Muller who took on the shot first time and he powered the ball towards goal. Ter Stegen looked to have it covered but it took a slight deflection as it went through the legs of Mascherano which took it just out of the reach of ter Stegen. 

Bayern still had a long way to go before they could be in the final and they looked up for the challenge. Messi lost the ball which gifted Lewandowski with another chance at goal. He shifted the ball onto his other foot, but Gerard Pique was in the right place to deflect the ball past the post. And then, they lost their momentum. Possibly, due to the fast pace in which they started the game, they just couldn't keep it going for the whole 90 minutes to give them a chance of progressing to the final. 

Barcelona finished the chances of the game deep into added time when Neymar found himself in a one on one situation with the goalkeeper. On his hat trick, the Brazilian unselfishly looked across goal to find Messi making a run to the far post. There was too much pace on the ball though, and the chance came to nothing. 

This means that it will be Barcelona playing the final in Berlin on the 6th of June after already dumping out the English champions, the French champions and the German champions. This either leaves them with the Italian champions or the current holders as their final competition. This game, however, was one that will leave Pep Guardiola wondering how he failed to get his team up and running in the first tie as that proved to be very costly in the semi final. 

MATCH REPORT: Chelsea vs Liverpool

This was the game that would mark Chelsea's first since they were crowned champions and the game that Liverpool needed to win in order to keep hopes of a Champions League place alive. This is the game in the season that proves whether Chelsea can keep going until the final moments even though they've confirmed their prize already. The game got underway after a respectful guard of honour from the Liverpool players and match officials, with a lot of people commenting on the fact that Steven Gerrard was stood applauding his opponents and not walking out alongside them. 

Chelsea started brightly though and looked like they were going to prove all of their critics in recent matches wrong about their 'boring football'. They put some feisty challenges in, especially the midfield players, whenever Liverpool's offensive players got hold of the ball in the opening exchanges. This tactic paid off for them as well as in the first five minutes, Chelsea had won a corner and looked ready to attack. Cesc Fabregas took the corner and swung it in and John Terry was in the perfect position, after getting away from his marker in Rickie Lambert, to get up to head the ball into the back of the net. He rose above two defenders and directed his header so perfectly that it bounced just out of the reach of both Simon Mignolet and Gerrard who were standing on the goal line. 

It didn't take long for Liverpool to get into their stride after the Chelsea goal. Philippe Coutinho had Liverpool's first chance and he took the shot on sweetly from outside the box. It was heading towards the target but Filipe Luis got his head to the ball to flick it past the far post. That wasn't the only chance that he had to try and take his team back onto level terms as he pulled into the box from the left side and managed to get away from Kurt Zouma which allowed him to take the shot on without any contest. Thibaut Courtois took up a great starting position to get down and save the shot with his boot. 

The tempo of the game picked up dramatically as both teams began pushing forward. Chelsea seemed to have sat back and seemed content to pass the ball forward and only go forward occasionally as their new game plan mirrored that of so many of their past ones; defend the lead. Fabregas had a good chance when he got played in on the right side. He ran the ball into the box and narrowed down to a very, very tight angle. He still decided to take on the shot, which caused Mignolet a few problems as he got down to try and save it, and luckily for him, it went just wide of the post, but it could just as easily gone of the keeper and hit the net. 

However, the quality that was demonstrated whenever Chelsea did choose to go forward showed exactly how and why they have been crowned champions in this Premier League season. There were points in the first half that looked like Liverpool were struggling to defend against the home side, but they held their own and soon got their reward. From a situation very similar to the Chelsea goal at the opposite end, the captain was the one who made the difference. Branislav Ivanovic gave away a free kick on the back line just before the half time whistle, not far from the corner flag, which gave Jordan Henderson the chance to swing the ball into the centre of the box. Gerrard did well to lose John Obi Mikel to give himself a free header which he directed in at the far post. 

This began what would be an extremely dominant period for Liverpool that carried on through most of the second half. Chelsea just couldn't find a final cutting ball that would cause Liverpool a problem when they tried to restore their lead. The first chance of the second half fell to Coutinho again, who played a big part in the buildup to the chance as well. Raheem Sterling ran at the defence and into the left side of the box where he was allowed to pass the ball into the feet of Coutinho, who pulled away from Mikel and put a lot of pace behind the shot that ended just wide of the post. 

Chelsea managed to string enough passes together to create a chance when the ball fell to Willian at the right side of the box. He chose to fizz his shot across the face of goal, but the chance was wasted as it went past the far post. Liverpool came out with an aim for the second half and looked the brighter of the two teams throughout. They wouldn't allow Chelsea anytime on the ball or in possession. They followed this with a good chance from Adam Lallana with the help of teammate Lambert. Lambert's run pulled the defenders away from the space that Lallana pulled into to take his shot and he took it quickly in the hopes of catching out the keeper. He didn't quite do that though, as one of the Chelsea defenders got back into position to deflect the ball wide. 

It was a match that proved to be disappointing for Liverpool, who had the better chances and looked the more likely to take the points away from the game. They certainly proved that they could cause a lot of problems for one of the best keepers in the League in Courtois. Coutinho proved to be too much to handle for a lot of the Chelsea defenders and the home team just couldn't get their star man into the game. However, no matter what Liverpool threw at Chelsea, they were equal to their opposition in so many ways, which is what effectively stopped Liverpool from being able to play in the Champions League next season. However, they still have the farewell of Steven Gerrard to look forward to this weekend, and they'll be hoping for a much better result then.

MATCH REPORT: Barcelona vs Bayern Munich [Champions League]

The night after Cristiano Ronaldo overtook Lionel Messi in the goal tally for not only this season's Champions League, but for the all time top scorer, before seeing his team lose, it was the turn of two of the big boys in Europe. Barcelona and Bayern Munich have met previously in the knock out round of the Champions League not long ago, but those ties didn't end too well for the Spanish team when they took a heaving beating. Bayern were without their top players in the shape of Arjen Robben and Frank Ribery though, while Barca were at full strength which meant it could be a night to remember for either team. 

It was a first half that was dominated by Barcelona as Bayern played a man marking tactic that allowed the front three players a lot of space on the ball close to their box. It didn't even take 5 minutes for Barca to cause Bayern a problem when a ball was slipped through to Luis Suarez and he was left one on one with the keeper. Jerome Boateng was coming back on the cover and he tried to pull Suarez back by putting his left hand on his shoulder, but Manuel Neuer would have reached the ball anyway meaning the referee didn't give a second thought to not giving the penalty. 

Messi played a big part in helping Barca register their first attempts on goal at the beginning of the first half, starting when he held up the ball as he waited for Neymar to join him. He had his back to goal and played a short pass in front of Neymar who got a clear shot on goal after he took the ball away from the defender, but his shot was aimed straight at Neuer. Five minutes later, the Bayern defence was left wide open again. Messi brought down a header into the path of Suarez who was left in acres of space when the flag didn't go up. He was left one on one with the keeper as the defenders couldn't get back in time, but Neuer got down well to save the shot with his right foot.

The rest of the half was all Barcelona. Messi was showing off his brilliance all over the pitch and he weaved his way around three Bayern players to get himself into the box and from the far right side of the box, he tried to curl an effort towards goal, which could possibly have been a cross, but it went wide of the far post. Sergio Busquets followed not long later when he played a beautiful ball up field to Alba who crossed the ball in with his first touch. If Boateng hadn't been there to make the block, it could easily have been an opening goal for the home side. The corner that followed this was met well by Suarez who got up above his defender. He powered his header in the direction of the ball, but it flew just over the crossbar. 

Just before the half time whistle, Barcelona won a free kick which Messi took from the edge of the box. He curled the effort towards Neuer's near post, but the keeper got across easily to catch the shot. Andres Iniesta opened up the Bayern defence moments later when he chipped the ball over the top of them to find Dani Alves who was running onto the ball. He had to stretch to reach the ball, but he still managed to direct his shot on target. Neuer, once again, had taken up a good starting position to stop the ball from going into the net. 

Both teams made a bright start to the second half but neither created any clear cut chances that would open the scoring in the tie. They were compact and passing the ball around well when they had time in possession. It was Barca who created the first chance of the second half near the hour mark when Neymar turned his back to goal to play a short ball to Messi who was running onto the pass. He took the shot sweetly and put some pace behind it, but again, the shot was straight down the middle at Neuer. 

Bayern looked to be struggling defensively at some points in the second half and it was shown when they struggled to get a simple ball clear which allowed Barcelona to keep pressing them high and cause more problems. Ivan Rakitic chased the ball down and eventually won it from the Bayern player and he widened the play by passing to Neymar who was on the left. He tried to curl his shot into the top right corner, but he didn't get his angles right and it was high and wide of the target. 

The away side could only register one attempt of any importance in the second half and that was started when Thiago was found on the edge of the 18 yard box. He took the shot first time, but it wasn't the most powerful of shots which meant that the deflection off Iniesta took a lot of pace off the ball. It did almost wrong foot Marc-Andre ter Stegen though, but he managed to get across to hold the ball. 

It took some brilliance to break down the Bayern defence, and there would be only one player that could open the scoring with such quality. Neymar had a weak penalty appeal moments before which the referee waved away and Alves was quickest to win back the ball for the home side from Xabi Alonso where he passed the ball across to Messi. He pulled the ball back before powering the ball into the back of the net on Neuer's near side, leaving the keeper no chance of getting close to the shot. It was a goal that had the Barcelona fans bowing down to their main man and one that put him level on Champions League goals with Ronaldo once again. 

Only three minutes later, Messi had scored again. He weaved his way through Boateng, leaving the defender on the floor, and from the right side of the six yard box he chipped the ball over Neuer who stayed standing. The keeper brought his hand up to try and get something to the ball, but it was already over his head and bouncing into the far bottom corner and away from the covering defender. Two touches of class may have taken the game away from Bayern Munich before they even get into the second tie. 

It wasn't over yet though as Neymar, in particular, kept pushing forward and causing a lot of problems for the opposition's defence. He slipped the ball past four Bayern defenders to reach Suarez, but the ball was played slightly behind him which stopped him in his tracks slightly, but his shot ended high over the cross bar. This was followed by some Bayern pressure. The second goal to wake them up, but the chances they created just weren't getting close to goal or causing any problems for any of the Barcelona players. They hadn't had the best game and it seemed that they were starting to regret that at this point in the game.

Suarez had another chance a few minutes last when he won the ball back after a poor clearing header from the Bayern defence. He ran at the defence from the right side and chose to square the ball across to Neymar instead of taking the shot himself. Neymar did get to the ball first, but slipped as he took the shot. He still managed to direct the shot towards the target, but Rafinha was in the right place to turn the ball out for a corner. 

It took Bayern just under 20 minutes to even get close to the Barcelona goal. Thomas Muller had the strength to beat Jordi Alba and he created space down the right side to cross a low ball across the box which met Robert Lewandowski who was left unmarked in the middle as he tried to turn the ball towards the target, but his shot was off target. That was only the first of two attempts that Bayern had in the first half; the other half chance came on the half hour mark. Thiago tried to curl the ball across the box from the left to find Bastian Schweinsteiger, but the pass wasn't the greatest and it curled wide of the far post without Schweinsteiger getting any type of touch on it. 

In the final minute of added time, Neymar rounded it all off for Barcelona. Most of the Bayern players had pushed forward, leaving a lot of space in behind for the Barca players to counter attack in. Suarez got fouled during the counter attack, but he still managed to get the ball to Messi's feet, allowing the referee to play a great advantage. Messi played in Neymar straight away and he had no defenders around him which allowed him to put himself in a one on one situation with the goalkeeper. He kept his cool and calmly slotted the ball past Neuer and into the back of the net.

A 3-0 lead could prove to be a difficult one for Bayern to turn around considering how well Barcelona played in the first tie, but if they do plan on making it to the final, then they'll need a better game plan. Pep Guardiola's tactics obviously didn't work in the way that he'd hoped against his old side, but one thing is for sure, he'll need to find some way of stopping Lionel Messi, who has once again broken Ronaldo's records just one day later. It has all been set up nicely for a second tie in the Allianz arena...