Champions League: Gnabry, Lewandowski gift Bayern final berth

UEFA Champions League Semi Final 2020, Lyon vs Bayern Munich Live Score updates: Get live football commentary, highlights and updates of UCL at Sportstar.

Updated : Aug 20, 2020 02:25 IST , Lisbon

Bayern Munich players train ahead of the Champions League semifinal match against Lyon at the Estadio Jose Alvalade in Lisbon, Portugal.
Bayern Munich players train ahead of the Champions League semifinal match against Lyon at the Estadio Jose Alvalade in Lisbon, Portugal.
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Bayern Munich players train ahead of the Champions League semifinal match against Lyon at the Estadio Jose Alvalade in Lisbon, Portugal.

 

 

FULL TIME: 20 wins a row. 10/10 in the Champions League. Bayern Munich has been nothing short of ruthless! And now in a Sunday showdown, it will be PSG v FC Bayern, to bring this epic campaign to a close.

90' Three minutes have been added on.

85' Alaba takes a freekick from right outside the box and it doesn't even make it beyond the wall.

84' Yellow card: Thiago Mendes has been booked for a high-boot on Kimmich.

82' SUBSTITUTION: Bayern takes off Alcántara and Goretzka, bringing on former Lyon man Tolisso and Benjamin Pavard, who will be playing his first game since July.

80' Not again... Goretzka's effort, headed straight for the goal, has taken a deflection off a red shirt again - Muller this time. He cannot believe it. We cannot believe it.

77' Oh... oh... Neuer was just about to win a heck of an assist as he sent in a wonderful throw to the left to Coutinho ahead at the break. He rushes on to slam one from a difficult angle. The effort just misses the far post.

75' SUBSTITUTION: Coutinho, who came on to slam two of the eight home against Barcelona in the quarters, on for Gnabry.

72' SUBSTITUTION: Marcal off. 16-year-old Cherki is in. Rudi Garcia clearly looking to boost the attacking front now.

71' Things heating up here. Cornet sends in a brilliant cross from wide out. Initially looks like Adelaide would get to the other end but it flies just over his head in the box.

68' Muller finds some space on the left to work one away towards Lewandowski. Marcelo has blocked the effort. Not Lewandowski's night, one might say.

66' TWIN SUBSTITUTIONS: Ekambi walks off. Jeff Reine-Adelaide to replace him. Kenny Tete on for Dubois.

63'SUBSTITUTION: Ivan Perisic is replaced by Kingsley Coman.

60' Ekambi rushes in from the right and as he is charged at by the Bayern defence he lets the ball go, in what can be called a half-hearted shot that is nowhere close to either of the posts. What was that?

59' There will never be a better opportunity tonight for sure. Aouar squares one off to an onrushing Ekambi. When all he had to do was to go for a lob, he goes for a grounded shot to find the German shot-stopper's trailing leg.

58' SUBSTITUTION: Dembele on for Depay.

56' Marcelo meets a corner and heads one on target but Neuer makes it look like no work at all.

52' Perisic fails to get on the scoresheet, twice. He goes one-on-one on Lopes but he has slammed it straight to the keeper. Lopes picks it up again, shortly after, even though he hits the crossbar.

49' Depay has been flagged offside again as he tries to get to the other end of a long ball sent on by Lopes. When should be the ideal time to bring Dembele on?

48' Goretzka spots Muller's run into the penalty area and sends in a cross from the deep that bounces to Lopes instead.

46' Slight change for Bayern at the back as Sule has taken up Alaba's position in the middle.

45' SUBSTITUTION: Lyon brings Thiago Mendes on for Bruno Guimaraes.

45' SUBSTITUTION: Jerome Boateng has walked off. Niklas Sule has come on.

HALF-TIME: There will be no added time and we have come to the very end of an entertaining first half. Depay struck it wide, Ekambi had an opportunity... There was a time when it seemed Lyon was doing everything right and working towards taking the lead. But Gnabry ensured the Bavarians march on.

43' Goretzka has a go from 25 yards. The ball takes a deflection off Lewandowski and it would have bounced out if not for Gnabry's effort. He keeps it in but the Denayer ensures there is no further damage.

38' Almost! Gnabry sends one curling in from the right corner. It looks to be going in when Lewandowski manages to realise that it won't be the third. He sticks his foot out but misses the tap-in by a mile.

31' A Lewandowski effort has been cleared by Lopes. Bayern wins a corner and this time the Polish forward heads it over.

28' Bayern Munich wins a freekick again and Alaba looks to play Gnabry in but the latter doesn't seem to have control over the shot.

25' Lyon mustn't lose its confidence now as the first signs of its nerves may have started to show; it has to try and stay in this contest. Perisic's cross, what should have been an easy ball to clear, has been headed straight towards Gnabry by Marcelo. He goes for goal, uncontested, but Lopes saves the side from further embarrassment.

22' Bayern wins a freekick on the right from just about 30 yards out. Will it get the insurance goal? Alaba chips it over and looked like Muller almost made the run when he slipped and scoffed it to Lopes. You could hear the German scream in anguish.


17'
OFF THE WOODWORK! Ekambi tricks Davies before making way inside the box and slamming one on the bar. I. Cannot. Believe. It.

12' Hit and a miss! You almost start to wonder whether Lyon will go on to regret these opportunities. However, it goes without saying that Bayern has been less than impressive, thus far as well. Depay runs down the left and blasts in a cross. Too fast for Ekambi to make out what had just happened!

11' Almost half-a-chance for Bayern, this! Lewandowski and Goretzka play a one-two at the edge of the box before the German miscues his shot to send the ball spinning. Lopes, unsure of whether the ball was bouncing out wide, dives to clumsily send it out for a corner.

9' Dubois' low cross in from the right has been punched away by Neuer even as Denayer fails to connect.

4' SURPRISE! SURPRISE! Lyon had all but made it 1-0. Caqueret wins the ball inside his own half to lay out a wonderful through ball to Depay. The Dutchman breaks into a run, dashing up towards the right but could only fire at the netting.

3' After Bayern looks to make early inroads, Lyon wins a throw-in high up and wide. Cornet hurls it towards Marcelo, who doesn't manage to get to the other end of the commendable effort.

KICKOFF: The Bavarians have set the ball rolling. Can Lyon pull off a shocker tonight?

Time for the UEFA Champions League anthem. We are only minutes away from the kickoff, ladies and gentlemen!

 

MATCH PREVIEW

Having already eliminated Juventus and Manchester City, the task of overcoming the final hurdle to reach a first Champions League final suddenly seems less daunting for Lyon. Even if the French club's semifinal opponent on Wednesday is a Bayern Munich side that just humiliated Barcelona 8-2.

"Their performance against Barcelona proved that Bayern remain an excellent team and one that mustn't be taken lightly," Lyon forward Maxwel Cornet said. "We've knocked out some really big teams ... that shows we're every bit as good as those teams."

It was Cornet's goal - his first in seven Champions League appearances this season - that set Lyon on the way to a 3-1 victory over a City side that is the most-expensively assembled in football history.

WATCH | Lyon continues to prepare for Champions League semi-final



Financially there is a lot at stake for Lyon. Beyond the huge prestige of winning the European Cup for the first time, Lyon has to win the final just to qualify for next season's competition after only finishing seventh in a French league season curtailed by the pandemic.

But Lyon did take Paris Saint-Germain to penalties in the French League Cup final last month, only to lose the shootout.

"To be part of a squad that is quietly and humbly writing history is really, really nice," the 23-year-old Cornet said. "We have a young squad. I think you can feel that on the pitch."

Just look at the midfield.

WATCH | Enjoy a compilation of Robert Lewandowski's Champions League goals during the 2019-20 season. The Polish forward has scored against Chelsea, Tottenham, Red Star Belgrade, Olympiacos and FC Barcelona in an incredible run.



There's academy graduate Houssem Aouar and defensive midfielder Bruno Guimaraes, who are both 22. And 20-year-old Maxence Caqueret also rose through the ranks at Lyon.

"Lyon really are a very good team tactically," Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer said. "They can play on the break, and they have killers in their ranks who punished City mercilessly."

"We have to make sure we're wide awake. Any mistake can be quickly punished and you're quickly out."

Bayern was Lyon's opponent when the Ligue 1 side last reached a Champions League semifinal in 2010, with the German team winning 4-0 over two legs. This time, due to the pandemic constrained format, the semifinal is a single game without fans in Lisbon.

"Even though from a German point of view they are the least known entity amongst the semifinalists," Bayern midfielder Corentin Tolisso said, "I also know that they always show up in big games."

Tolisso should know a lot about them. He was part of the Lyon side that made it to the last four of the second-tier Europa League in 2017, losing to Ajax.

ALSO WATCH | Marcelo speaks about Bayern before Champions League semi-final



"It's incredible," he said. "Since I left Lyon, I've been wondering when I'll get the chance to play against them and meet them again. I never thought it would happen in the Champions League semifinals."

But it is Bayern which is the overwhelming favourite after the demolition of Barcelona. Lyon goalkeeper Anthony Lopez will be hoping he is not picking the ball out of his net eight times.

"I'm not worried," Lopez said. "Of course the demands are high. I will be busy, but that's OK."

While the Bavarian powerhouse is the undisputed force of German football - winning the last eight Bundesliga titles - it has failed to carry that form over to Europe. It has been seven years since Bayern won the last of its five European titles.

 

"We talk every day about the chance that we have here in Lisbon," Bayern forward Serge Gnabry said.

Like Lyon with the arrival of Rudi Garcia, Bayern is also reaping the rewards of a mid-season managerial change. Hansi Flick replaced Niko Kovac in November, leading a revival powered by Robert Lewandowski's goals. The striker's tally for the season moved to 54 in the rout of Barca.

"It looks like we are the favourites now," Gnabry said. "So we have to be careful not to let them beat us. But we know they are very strong on the counterattack and are good defensively. So we have to be on the front foot."

HEAD-TO-HEAD

Bayern Munich and Lyon will meet in an European competition for the ninth time, with the German side winning four of the previous eight (D2, L2). The last time they met was also in the Champions League semifinal, with Bayern winning 4-0 on aggregate in 2009-10. Watch the highlights of that match below.


 

Bayern Munich form guide: W-W-W-W-W

Lyon form guide: W-L-L-W-W

STAT ATTACK

- This will be Bayern Munich's 12th appearance in the UCL semifinal, with only Real Madrid (13) reaching the final four of the competition on more occasions.

- The German side has failed to progress from each of its last four semifinals, since winning the competition in 2012-13.


- Lyon manager Rudi Garcia is looking to become just the second French manager to lead a French team into the Champions League final, following Didier Deschamps with Monaco back in 2003-04.

- Bayern Munich, in 2019-20, is just the second side, after Barcelona in 2002-2003, to win the first nine matches in its UCL campaign. A victory in this match would see the side equal the longest winning run in the competition's history (10 set by Bayern itself in November 2013 and Real Madrid in February 2015).

- Lyon midfielder Houssem Aouar has assisted seven goals in his 14 Champions League appearances since his debut season in the competition in 2018-19, only Kylian Mbappe (10) and Riyad Mahrez (eight) have more.

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