Lyon vs Bayern Munich: Five things we learned as Serge Gnabry stars in Champions League semi-final
The Bundesliga champions will face their Ligue 1 equivalents in the final
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Your support makes all the difference.Bayern Munich are into the Champions League final after a 3-0 win over Lyon.
The Ligue 1 side had the better of the opening exchanges, but Serge Gnabry opened the scoring for Bayern with a thunderous left-footed effort.
Gnabry added a close-range second later in the first half to put Bayern well in control, with Robert Lewandowski missing a couple of chances to add to the scoreline.
Lyon certainly pushed on after the break and had chances to pull one back, but lacked a finishing touch. Philippe Coutinho had the ball in the net late on, but was offside, before Lewandowski did manage to add a third.
Here are five things we learned from the semi-final on Wednesday night.
A tale of big missed chances
Lyon, it has to be noted, could have been two goals up before Bayern were on the scoresheet.
Memphis Depay couldn’t quite find the angle on a one-versus-one chance, Maxwel Cornet just had to find a cross to Karl Toko Ekambi in the middle but saw it cut out, then Toko Ekambi himself struck the post after turning in the box.
All that came in the opening 16 minutes of the game—and if Lyon’s bench felt then that they might be made to pay for that profligacy, they didn’t have long to wait to feel vindicated.
Around a minute after the woodwork was struck at one end, the back of the net was rippled at the other with Gnabry’s absolute rocket of a hit.
Central dominance
With Lyon having the numerical advantage, the centre midfield battle could easily have gone their way.
The fact it didn’t after the opening minutes is testament to both the Bayern duo’s technical ability and the entire team’s tactical cohesion: there was always an angle, always a man over, always an outlet.
Three-on-two allowed Lyon to swarm and press for a few minutes, and quick passes after those transitions, but experience and on-the-ball quality soon told.
Bruno Guimaraes didn’t have a chance to impart his authority and was subbed at the break, while Houssem Aouar, so influential in the last round, only started to have any kind of impact at all after a half-time alteration which saw him pushed forward.
Those changes helped Lyon, but Bayern’s middle of the park had the greater control and later the greater depth – and that will be a key area of the park in the final itself.
Gnabry the all-round forward
Winger, inverted forward, second striker, poacher.
The German international was excellent for most of the game, showing for quick exchanges of passes in tight areas, running beyond to stretch play in the channels and, of course, showing a clinical touch.
If the first goal was all about his individual quality, the second was his contribution to the team: Gnabry started the move, swept a pass out to the far side and followed the ball into the box to tap home his brace.
Whether running in-from-out in the channel, finding space between the lines or heading straight for goal, he is a complete forward who can hold off a defender as easily as take them on and who can finish chances as well as create them.
Future on show
Lyon head home a game earlier than they’d like, but at least two later than many thought might be the case.
Rudi Garcia has had to win over the fans, the neutrals and the odds, but his 3-5-2 has been exceptionally difficult to break down and very dangerous on the break.
Lyon might well lose one or two names this summer—Memphis Depay has a year left on his deal, Moussa Dembele is a wanted man, Aouar is a real star—but already the next crop can be seen and that talent too will shine.
Caqueret has plenty in his all-round midfield game. There are options to go alongside him. The prodigiously talented 17-year-old Rayan Cherki made a cameo off the bench here.
Lyon keep on selling to survive, but Lyon keep on producing to thrive, too. No Europe next year for them, but still lots to look forward to.
Clash of the titans
So it’ll be a clash of cash-rich giants in the final, though with those finances obtained in extremely different ways. For the more on-pitch focused, it’s set to be a question of who has the most potent attack.
On one side, it’s Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Angel Di Maria; on the other it’ll be Gnabry, Lewandowski, Thomas Muller and either Ivan Perisic or Kingsley Coman.
Chances and openings will certainly be forged, so the immediate assumption is that the winners might be the team who can either stay best organised...or be most clinical.
A fantastic finale to the festival of football awaits and the 90 minutes should be awash with stellar names and memorable moments.
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