I may as well live blog this sucker. Starting after the first goal.
No one expected Arsenal to win this game. The opening quarter hour showed why. Arsenal had one foray forward early that yielded nothing interesting. Otherwise, it was all Bayern. We kept dropping off. When we won the ball back, we lost it immediately--poor passing. Bayern's first goal (I'm sure there will be more) came off nothing special: Robben was given way too much space when Iwobi didn't follow him and Coquelin didn't move quickly enough to close off the inevitable left footed shot, which was perfect, curling into the far upper corner--excellent finish, and 1-0 in the 11th minute. (Ozil in area but stood motionless throughout. Weird.) It stays that way into the 25th.
Alexis received the ball in space and beat Alaba, who bundled him over just outside the box. Neuer fumbled Ozil's hard shot right at him, but offsides nullified any advantage that could have come from that. First corner of the game, for Arsenal, results in a penalty. Koscielny made a tremendous interception on a bouncing ball in the box, and was kicked by Lewandowski. Alexis took the PK, hit it right at Neuer, but put the rebound in. 1-1.
Bayern feels aggrieved, and Hummels play-acts Alexis into a yellow a minute or two later. They go ballistic when Bellerin's arm got in the way of a cross, but no penalty. Both teams playing hard, Arsenal picking up the fouls. Xhaka not looking sharp at all. Iwobi learned his lesson and is not letting Robben free.
Cutback after nice counter from Alexis to Xhaka, who nails the volley but straight at Neuer. Game a bit cagier now. Arsenal not having much possession. Lewandowski just under a smart cross and it goes over. Lovely free kick from Alonso not met properly by Hummels and the header goes wide. One minute extra time. Ozil can't get his shot past Neuer when released with through ball (tight angle); Arsenal finishes on front foot. Halftime.
Bayern is doing pretty much what it wants outside the penalty box and getting their heads on some wicked crosses in the box, but the Gunners played well enough to hold them to one goal. Kos was the standout for me. Bellerin working hard but has gotten turned inside out a few times. The forward players showed menace at times, giving me some hope for a second away goal, which would be huge.
Arsenal starts on front foot. Ospina comes out of area to clear a loose ball near sideline, and Douglas Costa cleans him off. Kos comes out! Not sure why; replaced by Gabriel. Bad news. Crowd decides Ospina is a bad guy for having gotten clattered into and boos him every time he touches the ball. Bayern goes up 2-1 at 53 minutes on a very good cross, and Lewandowski totally beat Mustafi to it to make a good header across goal. Alexis loses ball in promising position. Bayern goes 3-1 up when Thiago runs past everyone to be open 11 yards out. Mustafi primary goat again.
Gotta say, we look really poor today. Granted, Bayern is a great great team, playing at home, but it's too easy for them. Xhaka gets his first yellow--silly. We get pulled apart again, and after Ospina has to come way out, we're lucky to get away with a corner. Ospina makes a save, and on the subsequent corner, Xhaka deflects a second chance shot past Ospina. Should have been cleared before that. 4-1 and totally reflective of the way the teams are playing.
So, with a half hour to play in the first leg, we're already out of the Champions' League, barring some incredible reversal of form. Kos was key. Vidal almost sneaks one in from 40 yards. We just can't keep the ball when we get it, and look stretched every sequence. Ox exerting amazing energy both ways; no one else is. Ridiculous--Bellerin simply gives the ball away. After a scramble in our box, Alexis loses it dawdling up at their end.
Almost a fifth as we simply can't clear; Ospina wraps it up and Lewandowski spikes him, but ref doesn't see it. The Germans are whining after every challenge, Lewandowski awful actor, much better footballer. Lots of ineptitude from us. Giroud and Walcott had entered, but it makes no difference. A comedy goal makes it 5-1: Ox coughs it up in front and three seconds later this tie is over for sure.
I think I have something better to do now. Fuck this shit.
[Yes, I did have something better to do. Right after the end, when I sure hope Ox didn't hurt himself making a meaningless tackle, I went to a protest of Scott Pruitt's nomination. He's one of the rogue's gallery President Pussygrabber wants in his cabinet.]
OK, a few hours later, I'm trying to make sense of the astonishing mess I saw in Munich today. We got some real chances in the first half, but were still outplayed by a wide margin. We were never really in the second half. Maybe Kos would have made a difference, but with him out, Bayern overwhelmed us. They missed some opportunities to put more past Ospina too. On recent form, Arsenal is not going to finish in the top four--not even close. This was a result so humiliating that it probably made up a few minds as to where they'll be next year rather than London. I can't say I'd blame Wenger for retiring or Alexis for going somewhere where players take more pride in their craft. The lowliest Bundesliga team would have done no worse than we did today. It was that easy for Bayern. We weren't properly prepared or properly motivated, nor was the effort and focus there for a significant number of our guys. All we need now is for Sutton United to eliminate us from the FA Cup. I wouldn't bet against it after what I saw today.
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