Bayern Munich marched into an 11th Champions League final with a commanding 3-0 win over Olympique Lyon on Wednesday.
Bayern’s win sets up a mouthwatering clash against Paris St-Germain in Sunday’s final and keeps them on course for a treble in Hansi Flick’s incredible debut campaign as coach.
The Bavarians have also ended a run of having lost the previous four Champions League semi-finals in which they had appeared.
Bayern have been in imperious form since December swatting aside both domestic and continental opposition. This win was their 10th straight in the Champions League win and they are unbeaten in 28 games – a run stretching back to December.
Lyon were impressive in upsetting Manchester City in the previous round, riding their luck and finding joy on the counter and having found success with that approach, decided to replicate it on Wednesday.
But while it was them benefiting from City’s profligacy and misses, the tables were turned against Bayern as they paid the price for failing to convert glaring chances early on.
The French side could have taken the lead in the opening quarter but spurned two excellent opportunities with captain Memphis Depay shooting wide after running clear before Karl Toko Ekambi struck the upright from close range after cutting in from the right.
They were left to rue the misses just moments later when former Arsenal winger Serge Gnabry controlled a long pass, cut inside and unleashed an unstoppable rocket past Anthony Lopes.
Gnabry then doubled Bayern’s lead with a much more mundane effort, tapping in after Lopes had saved from Robert Lewandowski.
Ekanbi passed up a presentable chance to give Lyon a lifeline and substitute Phillipe Countinho had an effort ruled out for offside in the second half.
Lewandowski then put the game beyond Rudi Garcia’s team with a thumping header two minutes from time. The goal meant the Polish hitman has now scored for the ninth European game and he now has 15 in the competition this season, just two shy of the Cristiano Ronaldo’s all-time record for goals in a single campaign.
Lewandowski becomes only the second player behind Ronaldo to score 15 or more goals in a single Champions League campaign and Sunday’s thrilling final presents an opportunity for him to surpass the Portuguese’s record.
Bayern can also set a new Champions League record for the most consecutive wins breaking a joint record they hold with Real Madrid, but PSG will surely have something to say about that.
