Bayern Munich vs. FC Porto, 2015 Champions League: Bavarians spectacular in 7-1 win

It was evident straight from kickoff that Bayern meant business. Afforded more time on the ball than they had been in the first leg, the Bavarians were ominously purposeful with their passing. It took them just 10 minutes to slice through the deep Porto defence for the first time, though Robert Lewandowski’s effort hit the post after shot by Thomas Müller was parried into his path by Fabiano.

The floodgates had been opened, and Porto began to completely disintegrate under Bayern pressure. Jérôme Boateng headed a corner in for 2-0 eight minutes after the first, with some rather weak goalkeeping from Fabiano allowing it to sneak inside the near post. The goal meant Bayern were leading on aggregate, and that their visitors had to come out and attack.

It was too easy, with Boateng given too much space by Porto’s defense. The mistake was further exposed by Fabiano playing his try at a save terribly, almost seeming to pull his hands away from the ball at the last moment. Maybe he was afraid of crashing into the post, but when you have a one-goal aggregate lead on Bayern, you put everything on the line to keep the ball out. Now Bayern are through thanks to away goals because of this equalizer.

Porto, meanwhile, have been forced into a couple of adjustments, with full-backs Alex Sandro and Danilo both suspended. Tha thas resulted in coach Julen Lopetegui playing four center-backs, with Bruno Martins Indi and Diego Reyes filling in either side of Maicon and Iván Marcano, the latter returning from suspension in time to play this crucial fixture.

Porto starting lineup (4-3-3): Fabiano; Bruno Martins Indi, Iván Marcano, Maicon, Diego Reyes; Óliver Torres, Casemiro, Héctor Herrera; Yacine Brahimi, Jackson Martínez, Ricardo Quaresma.

Bayern Munich are in an unfamiliar position -- in danger of getting knocked out of a competition. FC Porto turned in an impressive performance in the first leg of this Champions League quarterfinal tie, and take a 3-1 lead into the Allianz Arena on Tuesday.

This tie wasn’t expected to be a particularly close tie, but a combination of injury woes and horrible individual errors by Bayern’s defense helped Porto to some early goals in the first leg. But the Bavarians did snag an away goal, so a 2-0 home win will see them through to the next round.

The first leg of this Champions League quarterfinal tie saw one of the most shocking upsets of the tournament so far when Porto didn’t just beat Bayern, they outplayed them and even dominated them at times. It was a completely unexpected result and left Bayern reeling to the tune of a 3-1 loss that they now must overturn at home in the second leg.

Make no mistake, though, the job isn’t anywhere near done for Porto yet. They’re going to have a heck of a time scoring in the Allianz Arena, and they must in order to offset Bayern’s away goal from the first leg. With Bayern likely to be much more focused and prepared for what Porto will throw at them, they will have to play at a higher level than ever before in order to hold off the German titans and make the semifinals.