Merciless Bayern beat a sorry Barcelona 3-0

BARCELONA: Goals by Sadio Mane, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting and Benjamin Pavard earned Bayern Munich a 3-0 win at already-eliminated Barcelona on Wednesday (Oct 26) as the German giants clinched a spot in the Champions League round of 16 as group winners.

Bayern top Group C on 15 points, five ahead of Inter Milan who also reached the knockout stage after a 4-0 win against Viktoria Plzen earlier on Wednesday, a result that eliminated Barcelona in the group stage for the second year in a row.

With Barcelona having nothing riding on their game, it did not take long for Bayern to open the scoring through Mane 10 minutes into the first half after receiving a brilliant long pass from Serge Gnabry.

Mane beat Spanish defender Hector Bellerin in a 50-metre race and scored with a tidy finish.

Bayern doubled their lead in similar fashion 21 minutes later, catching the Barca defence sleeping and out of position.

Joshua Kimmich passed to Gnabry who, from the edge of the box, set up Choupo-Moting to score his sixth goal in the Champions League this season.

Barca thought they had a penalty after a clash between Dutch defender Matthijs de Ligt and Polish striker Robert Lewandowski but the referee, after a VAR check, ruled that there had been no foul.

Bayern took their foot off the gas after the break and had a Gnabry goal ruled out for offside in the 56th minute.

Pavard scored the third goal in the very last play of the game, with a close-range strike from a corner.

"The way we won gives us a lot of energy. I don't think Barca were expecting us to be so bold. But you have to do that when you play against Barcelona," Bayern manager Julian Nagelsmann told DAZN.

"We scored two lovely goals and added a third at the end. We defended with so much passion.