Hello and welcome to my latest blog post, where I have my review of the two UEFA Champions League Semi-Finals.
German leaders Bayern Munich hosted Spainish leaders Barcelona, while the competition's underdogs Borussia Dortmund hosted Real Madrid at the Signal Iduna Park.
Bayern Munich 4 Barcelona 0
This match was played at the Allianz Arena, as German giants Bayern hosted Barca at home in the first-leg of their mouthwatering tie.
The hosts dominated throughout the match, clearly doing their homework on their Spainsh opponents.
You could tell as best in the world forward Lionel Messi was isolated by himself, being marked well and challenged by defensive midfielders Bastian Schweinsteiger and Javi Martinez through the whole game.
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| Smart: Bayern did their homework on magic Messi and he was not able to make a significant impact of the game |
The hosts broke the deadlock in the 25th minute after Holland winger Arjen Robben's ball into the box was headed by Brazil defender Dante towards the near post for Thomas Muller who nodded the ball past Victor Valdes into the net.
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| Ahead: Muller converts a header at the near post past Valdes into the net to give Bayern a 1-0 lead. |
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| Important: Muller celebrates his first of the night to give Bayern a 1-0 lead at home. |
Mario Gomez doubled the lead for Bayern in the 49th minute with a half-volley strike inside the box despite offside claims after Muller's header bounced to him, with Valdes helpless to stop tthe shot from going in.
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| Hint of offside: Mario Gomez hits a sweet volley into the net past a helpless Valdes to double the Bayern lead. |
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| 2-0: Gomez celebrates his finish with his team-mates. |
Arjen Robben put the icing on the Bayern cake in the 73rd minute with a lovely curled finish into the bottom corner of the net.
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| Superb finish: Arjen Robben makes it 3-0 to kill off any Barca hopes of getting back into the match. |
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| Icing on the cake: Robben celebrates his goal despite claims of a foul by Muller on Alba during the build-up. |
Barcelona were furious that the goal was allowed to count, as Muller was seen to bodycheck Alba inside the box on purpose, blocking him from being able to tackle Robben.
The match was beyond Barca after this, but Bayern were not finished there. A long low ball by left-back David Alaba into the box found Muller who sild in to tap the ball past Valdes into the net to make it 4-0.
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| Sliding in at the far post: Muller scores his 2nd of the night to make it 4-0 against Barca. |
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| Effective: Thomas Muller was outstanding for Bayern on Tuesday, scoring 2 goals and helping the team. |
This was how the match finished, and Barca are almost certainly out of this tie after a comfortable, confident performance by Bayern Munich.
Borussia Dortmund 4 Real Madrid 1
German efficiency: Part 2 was shown at the Signal Iduna Park, as Dortmund thrashed Real Madrid 4-1 at home thanks to four great goals by Polish red-hot striker Robert Lewandowski.
It was a great team effort from the hosts despite the major story that Gotze was leaving Dortmund for Bayern in the summer transfer window, with Reus, Gundogan, Gotze and Lewandowski all playing very well as Real Madrid were put under the knife.
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| Controversy: Dortmund have confirmed that Bayern signed Gotze for £33million, and he will join the club in July |
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| Not taken well: Many Dortmund fans have not taken well to the news calling him "Judas" |
They only made one mistake in the game, with Hummels failing to pass the ball firmly enough for Weidenfeller, as Higuain sneakily intercepted the ball and crossed it into the box for Ronaldo to slot home an away goal for Real.
"Lethal Lewandowski" scored four for Dortmund as they cruised to a comfortable 4-1 victory at home. They will know that the tie is not over yet as Real Madrid are resillent and will want to get to the Wembley final.
However, having said that there is a good chance that it will be an all German final as both sides played outstanding football and proved that it is not just all about the Spainsh teams anymore...
Barca need another miracle just to get to the final, while Real do nto have a good chance but are still in the tie.
The second leg matches will be played on Tuesday (Real vs Dortmund) and Wednesday (Barca vs Bayern).
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