Calamitous defending puts Bayern Munich in hole against Porto (video)
If Bayern Munich thought it was going to stroll to the Champions League crown the way it’s strolling toward another Bundesliga title, a European underdog sounded a stern warning on Wednesday.
[Match stats: Porto vs. Bayern Munich]
Porto pounced all over a catastrophic defensive showing from the Bavarians and won 3-1 in the first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal tie at the Estádio do Dragão in Portugal.
[Slideshow: Bayern Munich vs. Porto in pictures]
Despite being one of the favorites to win the competition, it didn’t take long for Bayern to pay for its woeful defending. Within the first two minutes, Porto’s Jackson Martinez dispossessed Xabi Alonso in front of his own net, and after Bayern keeper Manuel Neuer brought down Martinez in the box, Porto’s Ricardo Quaresma buried the penalty kick:
A few minutes later, Bayern defender Dante took a terrible first touch and lost possession to Quaresma, who calmly doubled the lead:
Bayern Munich pulled one back in the 28th minute, when Thiago Alcantara finished a cross from Jérôme Boateng. It was Thiago’s first goal in a Bayern shirt since Feb. 23, 2014, after he missed over a year with a knee ligament tear.
But Bayern’s dominance in possession yielded no further goals, and Martinez finished off the game in the 65th minute, when Boateng decided to submit his candidacy for defensive blunder of the match:
Much has been made of Bayern’s current injury crisis, with stars like Arjen Robben, Franck Ribéry and Bastian Schweinsteiger missing Wednesday’s clash. While they would have provided more firepower in the attack, Bayern’s undoing came at the other end of the pitch, so it’s hard to pin the blame on who wasn’t in Pep Guardiola’s squad.
It’s only the fifth time the Bavarians have lost in all competitions this season, and they currently own a 10-point lead atop the Bundesliga table. While there's an argument to be made that such a domestic disparity allows them to focus primarily on the Champions League, it’s also fair to wonder how prepared they really are for these kinds of games. Porto is a young, skilled side and a European quarterfinalist for a reason, but it’s still the type of club from which the likes of Bayern Munich poaches players, not the other way around.
The away goal is valuable, as a 2-0 win next Tuesday in the second leg at the Allianz Arena would see Bayern Munich through to the semifinals. Such a result is easy to envision.
But nobody envisioned Wednesday’s defensive calamity, either. Therefore, a shockingly early Champions League exit is now very much in play.
