Bayern Munich vs. Barcelona: Germans looking confident early
The opening 15 minutes were all about a high tempo set by Bayern Munich and Barcelona not being able to sit in possession like they’d obviously like to do.
Barcelona started the match in no hurry at all, happy to sit in possession and probe the Bayern formation when the opportunity presented it self. No surprise at all since the last thing Barca wanted to do was allow Bayern to get their attack cranking, especially early.
It didn't take long though for Bayern to start making some forays forward and they came close in the 2nd minute when Javi Martinez played an excellent one-two with Arjen Robben, but the midfielder's shot was controlled well by Victor Valdés.
Bayern were back again earning a corner in the 5th minute that was dealt with by Gerard Piqué initially and finally cleared after a 50/50 confrontation between Marc Bartra and Javi Martinez. The Germans seemed none to scared by Barca's attack with both Martinez and Bastian Schweinsteiger closing down frequently early from their midfield positions.
