Bayern Munich better be afraid, very, very afraid. While they were busy losing to their arch rivals Borussia Dortmund on penalties, their upcoming opponents in the Champions League semi-finals were off destroying Getafe in La Liga.
Borussia Dortmund are obviously much, much better than Getafe, but the staggering part of Barcelona’s 6-0 victory over Getafe is not the fact that it came against Getafe. It is the fact that it happened at all.
Perfect is not the word to describe Barcelona’s performance. Perfect is a word for defending, for never taking risks and never making a mistake. The spontaneously brilliant creative heights that Barcelona hit this afternoon are a reminder of why they are called a super-team. They were a cohesion of genius the likes of which could probably cure cancer were it a diseased and throbbing defense. Bayern Munich is known for precise passing and incisive movements topped off with absolutely clinical finishing. Barcelona had all of that, and so much more.
This back heel by Xavi, after the kind of passing that belongs in the 2011 Barcelona of Guardiola, is the kind of unexpected piece of play that could make a stone faced cynic shiver with joy.
How on earth did Xavi know that Suarez was there? How did he know to angle the ball just so? For all of their class, we challenge you to find one instance of Philipp Lahm or Bastian Schweinstieger pulling off something remotely as eccentric as that pass there. And it came just after Xavi added his own name to the score sheet.
And should we be shocked? Neither, of these goals were the best of the day. That honor would go to Suarez, but this time it was Messi providing the kind of pass we’d expect to see from Xavi to Suarez who provided the kind of finish we’d expect from Messi. It is all so gloriously confusing.
Needless to say, Messi scored, too. Because he felt like it.
Even Barcelona’s goal keeper, Claudio Bravo got in on the superhuman act with this gravity defying save:
With that kind of vertical, we wouldn’t be surprised if the NBA came calling soon.
Again, we understand that this all happened against Getafe, but there is absolutely no way in the world that the team that pulled off all of these amazing goals in one game would ever, ever lose to Borussia “We Nearly Got Relegated” Dortmund. If Barcelona can reproduce this form against Bayern, there is no question of who the winner will be. The only thing that’s up in the air is how much Barca will win by.
Wednesday, May 6th cannot come fast enough. Champions League semi-finals, here we come.
