Muller punishes Barca again but Bayern say ´we could have won by even more´

Bayern Munich were disappointed only to beat Barcelona 3-0 at Camp Nou, again proving far too strong for their Champions League rivals.

The sides met for the first time since Bayern’s sensational 8-2 success 13 months earlier, a victory in the quarter-finals that broke all manner of records.

The final scoreline was slightly more respectable for Barca this time, yet they were completely outclassed again by the Bundesliga champions on Tuesday.

Ronald Koeman’s Barca did not muster a single shot on target for the first time in a Champions League match since Opta records began in 2003-04.

At the other end, Bayern were rampant, led by Thomas Muller and Robert Lewandowski.

Lewandowski scored twice after Muller’s opener maintained his outstanding record against Barca, now standing at seven goals from six matches.

No player in Champions League history has more goals against Barca – Muller passed Ukraine great Andriy Shevchenko’s five in the 8-2.

“We didn’t allow much at the back, and up front we could have scored one or two more goals,” Muller told Amazon.

“Playing here is just fun, the guys enjoyed it. If you win 3-0 here, that’s a very important signal. We are very happy.”

7 – Thomas Müller has scored more goals against Barcelona than any other player in European Cup/Champions League history (seven goals in six appearances). Thorn. pic.twitter.com/LwH7OwePcx

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) September 14, 2021

Muller was asked to explain why he scores so regularly against Barca, having netted once every 73 minutes in their Champions League meetings, converting seven of 16 shots.

“That’s because Barcelona are a playful team, and as an attacking player, you get a little more space than against defensive blocks,” he said. “But you can say that I like to score against Barca.”

Muller was not alone in enjoying himself on Tuesday, however, as one of nine Bayern players to share 17 shots between them.

Bayern star Joshua Kimmich, who attempted one and created three, said: “We didn’t get into the game that easily. The longer the game went on, the more we got control.

“We then happily make it 1-0 because it was a bit lucky. Nevertheless, we were already the better team in the first half. We could have won by even more.

“We let the ball run properly, although we still made a few simple mistakes. The bottom line is that we can be satisfied.”