German champions Bayern Munich thrashed 10-man Chelsea 3-0 in their Champions League first-leg round of 16 clash at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday, Completesports.com reports.
It was Chelsea’s heaviest ever margin of defeat in a home game in European competition.
Also Read: Europa League: Dennis To Miss Man United Clash Due To Injury
After a goalless first half, Bayern turned up the style in the second half and scored three goals through Serge Gnabry who had a brace and Robert Lewandowski.
Gnabry opened scoring in 50th minute as he tapped home Lewandowski’s cutback.
Just four minutes later Gnabry got his second off another assist from Lewandowski, who laid the ball into his path before he placed his left-foot strike beyond the reach of Willy Caballero.
And in the 76th minute Lewandowski got on the score sheet as he tapped into an empty net from an Alphonse Davies low cross.
With seven minutes remaining in the game, Chelsea were reduced to 10 men after Marcos Alonso was shown a straight red card for elbowing Lewandowski.
He was initially given a yellow card but after consultation with VAR, the referee changed it to a red card.
Alonso becomes the first Chelsea player to be sent off in the Champions League since April 2012, when John Terry was sent off against Barcelona in that season’s semi-final.
And in Naples, 10-man Barcelona held Napoli to a 1-1 draw.
Dries Mertens opened the scoring for Napoli on 30 minutes before Antoine Griezmann drew Barcelona level on 57 minutes.
And in the 89th minute Arturo Vidal was sent off after an altercation with Napoli’s Mario Rui.
By James Agberebi
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COMMENTS
Another shambolic display by Lampard and Chelsea. Take nothing away from Bayern though. It is not your fault if your opponent is below par on match day. The performance that caught the eye belonged to the young Ghanaian (ahem, cough), excuse me, the young Canadian Alphonso Davies. Electrifying pace and showed a calmness that belies his age to set up Lewandowski for a tap in. Ghanaians must be cringing right now. Their very own version of BUKAYO SAKA has been snatched by Canada. Will Nigeria suffer the same fate in the emerging struggle with England for Bukayo Saka?
@Pompeii my brother, please let’s stop this campaign for these English born nigerians especially when they are still at this young age and already in the eye of England, cos clamouring for them draw up interest from England for them too. The players should know what they want n prove that by doing,n not just talking. We should be going for these players when they get to their mid 20s or when they still U-17. But for shameless Manu / Ugbade n Aigbogun etc, we could have had few of such players to look up to in the future.
Glory, If I see a good player, I will campaign for him. No be my mouth I dey use? Abi I use ya mouth? Saka is not just good, he could end up being one of the greats. You said the players should know what they want and prove it by doing, not just talking. I require the same of the NFF. Since we were not involved in the player’s early development, the WORK we can do now is to try to PERSUADE the guy. We can’t just leave it to chance. If we try and fail, fine. We can console ourselves with the fact that new players will be discovered. But we can’t afford not to try. Especially with a player with this kind of potential, the likes of which come around only once in a blue moon.
And yes, clamouring for these players stirs up English interest as well. But in Saka’s case, whether we do anything or not, the English are already on his case. We can either fold our hands and allow the Enlgish to just get him without a fight, or we can indicate our interest and give the English a good old fashioned run for their money!
@Pompeii we will be playing into the hands of these agents, who use “the Nigeria want Saka” song to improve the image and marketability of their players. This NFF have done so much to convince/ bring in these players but these players know where their loyalty lies and this they always prove. Not blaming them at all, but it’s time we as nigerians respected our pride and allow these players do what they feel is right for them. They should all borrow a leaf from players like Semi Ajayi, Cyriel Dessers, Aribo, Victor Moses, Ola Aina, Ekong, Balogun etc. Saka knows Nigeria will be happy to have him. So let him show himself available. Is that too hard to do @ Pompeii.
I see your point, Glory. But honestly, if Saka had not shown interest in us, I wouldn’t be here clamouring for him. I’ve seen multiple articles where Saka pretty much declared himself available for Nigeria. He said he would come if we called, but he had not heard from us. Which is why myself and other like-minded forumites are asking the question – is it true what Saka said , that he has not been approached by Nigeria? That is the whole basis for my clamouring. We should do our part by aproaching him. Then it is left for him to decide. It is never by force. See Ebere Eze for example. Once, I clamoured for him too. As soon as it became clear that he is playing mind games with us, I stopped completely. I have moved on as far as Ebere Eze is concerned. And I will do the same if Saka rejects us. But if we fail to show interest, can we blame him?
Pompei, I see this Saka matter is heavy on your mind. 🙂
When it comes to football talent, I genuinely believe that Nigeria is a land flowing with milk and honey at home and abroad.
We seem to have a conveyor belt that produces endless decent talents.
Who ever thought of Aribo just 12 months ago? Did Ebuehi not wow us before the cold hands of injuries started distorting his career growth?
Josh Maja is a fantastic baller any day any time (one of a few players to be rated 10/10 in a league match recently) whilst we are all waiting eagerly for Cyriel Dessers to take us to places we’ve never seen before!
If we lose Saka to England, we will gain many more exciting players who are now queuing up to represent Nigeria.
So, my brother, let Saka enjoy his football whilst you enjoy watching him play.
We have far better talents just waiting to be discovered!
Oga Deo, the Saka matter dey heavy for my mind, no be small!
Not trying to compare Saka to JAY JAY, but just for illustration, imagine that the 19 yr old Austin Okocha of 1992/1993 was a German citizen while playing for Eintracht Frankfurt, and the Germans were keen on recruiting him for Die Manschaft. Would you have argued that – “Ok, let us just enjoy watching him play. After all, we will soon discover better talents”. Would you make that argument? When are we going to see the next Jay Jay? Not sure that will happen in our lifetime. Again, Saka is no Jay Jay, not at all. But his ability at such a young age points to talent that is RARE. Whoever gets this guy, England or Nigeria, will be getting a world class player who is comfortable anywhere on the left flank.
I totally agree that we are blessed with a seemingly endless supply of talents, and even if we don’t get Saka, we will still be ok. But if we get him, we will be even stronger. And I’m always gunning for the best case scenario in my endeavors. If something will make my life better, I fight to get it! We already know what it’s like to lose a world class player. David Alaba looms large in everyone’s mind. Can you imagine what the Super Eagles would have been like in the last 5 to 10 years with Alaba in the team? I’m just saying lightning should not be allowed to strike twice. We’ve got to do something. Siddon look won’t work.
Alphonso Davies is not Ghanaian. He is Liberian who was born in a refugee camp in Ghana due to the civil war in Liberia. Both his parents are from Liberia.
Alphonso Davies was born in Buduburam, Ghana. SO HE IS GHANAIAN BY BIRTH. His parents are Liberian, so he is Liberian by blood. The family relocated to Canada and received Canadian citizenship. So he was eligible to play for Ghana, Liberia or Canada.
Your yelling does not make him a Ghanaian. He is Liberian, end of. His DNA is entirely Liberian just as we know that Nigerians born in England are genetically Nigerians. Calm down and stop yelling.
I capitalize main points I want to pass across. That is my way. If you think that is yelling, that is your own cup of tea. It is you who needs to calm down. Getting angry for no reason.
ALPHONSE DAVIES IS GHANAIAN BY BIRTH. Liberian by blood. Canadian by choice. Period.
Thanks for your submission above Pompei.
I think Chelsea are going through a transition at the moment. I actually think that advancing to the knockout phase of the Champions League at this stage of their evolution was a poisoned chalice
The best thing to have happened to them would have been to drop down to the Europa league where they may have endured a more manageable draw.
Instead, they faced an opponent that only confirmed how far behind Chelsea currently are, compared to the elite teams at the moment.
Although they pulled off a miracle to win the Champions League against Bayern in their own Allianz Arena in 2012 – but there is no evidence to suggest they will come anywhere near the result they require in the second leg this time around.
The squad has no spine. They do not have maturity in their play. They can by lively and exciting at times but they play with far too much exuberance which exposes flaws that are there to exploited by more technically sound sides – like we saw yesterday.
I think coach Lampard summed it up best after the match when he said: “The performance was poor and sometimes you have to be brutally honest.
They outclassed us in every department and it’s quite sobering.
The level of team they are is why they challenge in the Bundesliga and Europe year in year out. I’m disappointed we couldn’t do more against them. We have to take it on the chin and work towards getting back to the levels we want to be at.”
Indeed Deo, it’s unsettling for Chelsea fans to see what their team is nowadays, compared with what they used to be. Perhaps it’s time for Chelsea to take a long, hard look at their players. Clear out the deadwood, and bring in quality. The aggressive recruiting of times past may be what is needed again.
As for Lampard, he’s blown hot and cold on the job. He was spot on tactically in their 2-1 defeat of Mourinho’s Tottenham recently. He does well in some games, but falls short in games you expect him to win. And this collapse against Bayern has got people wondering if he’s got what it takes.
Chelsea has been on the decline because of the inactivity of Roman Abramovich,the owner of Chelsea football club,who has faced difficulties obtaining a new UK visa,this has stalled the progress of Chelsea in recent times coupled with the transfer ban they suffered for a period of one year.
Roman Abramovich isn’t just an owner-he’s a Chelsea fan.He has put Chelsea’s future at the heart of everything he has done since he became owner.
He’s invested in players,managers,perhaps more than he should have-and the club’s infrastructure.
Apparently,he set the precedent that so many others have since followed after his takeover in 2003.
Chelsea will be great again with the presence of it’s sugar daddy in the forefront of management and outstanding leadership as the owner of Chelsea football club.
Sometimes I find it difficult to understand some people’s manner of approach to issues on this forum. Speaking with two mouths on the same situation is really confusing.
The case of Eze comes to mind. Same people pressurizing SE manager and nff on Eze are the same people condemning the clamor for Saka who is a more valuable player than Eze.
For the sake of progress, we need to be consistent and realistic about our approach to issues. Recent reports indicated that Saka is more connected to his roots, I hope the people in charge does the needy and approach the guy in a logical way.
I want to believe the football authorities in Nigeria are quietly working towards Saka’s change of allegiance or may have done so without success and decides to move on from him,otherwise it will be foolhardy for the NFF to ignore such a classy talent.
Either ways just like @ Deo said we have too many upcoming talents to lose sleep over a lost one.
@ Larry quite rightly same people might have started chanting a new song because of the attitude put forward by players like Eze, Tammy n others after being approached. In life intelligent people learn from the past to adjust their future. We can’t continue to drag Nigeria’s name in the mud irrespective of bad attitude of certain individual local coaches. The ones that truly want to represent Nigeria will know their way home. We are too big a talented bunch to be smeared with mud, sad we have got bunch of idiots all around that don’t seem to care a hoot about that. But there is a date for such persons anyway.
Exacly, Larry. I have also read on multiple occasions about how he has deep connections to his roots. If this is true, then we can use that to our advantage. Let’s make him chose between England and Nigeria.
This does not apply only to Saka. We should be looking to aggressively recruit any player we consider worth the effort. Until our league develops to the point were it becomes a reliable source of home grown talents, we have no choice. We have to keep an eye on our foreign born players.