UCL: Gnabry magic steers relentless Bayern Munich into final

Olympique Lyon 0-3 Bayern Munich, Estadio Jose Alvalade
(Gnabry 18', 33', Lewandowski 88')                                      

There were just 58 seconds between Lyon's Karl Toko Ekambi hitting the post when he should have scored and Serge Gnabry unleashing a rocket into the top corner. It was a goal of the highest quality from one of Europe’s finest players and a brutal lesson in finishing.

It’s a hallmark of this edition of Bayern Munich, coached by Hansi Flick to play with freedom and creativity, to also be ruthlessly efficient in front of goal. The eight they scored against Barcelona told its own story, and while this was a different performance against Rudi Garcia's more organized Lyon, the same traits were visible.

PSG await

Bayern’s second and third goals came courtesy of Gnabry and Robert Lewandowski, respectively, making it 20 victories in a row, 10 straight wins in the Champions League, and extending their unbeaten run to 29. Manuel Neuer even found time to make a couple of fine saves to ensure a clean sheet. All over the field, Bayern couldn’t have wished to reach the final in better form.

However, they face a PSG side hitting form too and Sunday’s final will be a meeting of Europe’s two most potent attacks, each led by a German coach. It’s also the first time all season that Bayern will be tested by such a quality forward line, but Alphonso Davies hinted after the game that Bayern’s strategy of gambling on simply outscoring their opponents won’t change against the Parisians.

“We know we have solid guys at the back so we try to get the forward as much as possible,” the Canadian said. "We have confidence in ourselves. It will be a good game and there will be goals in it."

Flick flips the script

When Flick was appointed Bayern coach on a permanent basis in January, the reaction outside Germany was muted. Despite a wealth of experience, it's taken Flick over 20 years of coaching to become an overnight success and achieve what Pep Guardiola, Carlo Ancelotti and Niko Kovac couldn't with Bayern: reach a Champions League final. And he's done it in a little over half a season and picked up a league title and German Cup along the way.

More than that, Flick has cultivated an on-field identity that couldn't be more different to his predecessor’s - without making a single signing. What he has done in brilliantly understated fashion is to free Bayern from the shackles of the Kovac regime, with the Croatian’s defense-minded approach never having sat well with the club's hierarchy or the array of attacking talent at the club. Under Flick, Bayern have let their hair down and their coach is just one game away from immortality.

 

As it happened:

90'+3 Final whistle! Bayern win 3-0 and move on to face Paris Saint-Germain in Sunday's 2020 Champions League Final!

88' Goal for Bayern Munich! Robert Lewandowski finally gets his goal. The Poland striker climbed high to meet a Joshua Kimmich free kick from near the corner flag with his head.

82' Another couple of substitutions for Bayern: Pavard comes on for Goretzka, Tolisso comes on for Thiago Alcantara.

81' A bit of sustained pressure around the Lyon's area, but Goretzka's effort from distance hits Müller in the back.

80' Coutinho puts it past Lopes but it's called back for offside. 

78' Coutinho almost makes an immediate impact, but his curling shot from the corner of the box touches a Lyon player and goes wide. 

75' Now it's Flick's turn. Off comes the scorer, Serge Gnabry, he's replaced by Philippe Coutinho.

73' Garcia makes another substitution; the 17-year-old Cherki replaces Marcal.

70' Corner for Bayern, but it's cleared first time. The resulting Lyon counterattack breaks down.

67' Substitution for Lyon: Ekambi comes off, he is replaced by Reine-Adelaide.

63' Indeed he does, it's Coman for Perisic for Bayern. 

62' Kingsley Coman is going over tactics with one of Flick's assistants, looks like he's about to come on. 

58' Dangerous ball in behind the Bayern line, into the area, Neuer cuts down the angle to foil Ekambi's attempt. 

57' Moussa Dembele, the hero from Lyon's quarterfinal against City comes on, replacing Depay. Can he produce that magic again?

55' Süle wins a battle with Depay in the Bayern area. Lyon want a penalty, but it doesn't even go to the VAR. Neuer makes a solid save off a header from the resulting corner.

51' Beautiful ball from Alphonso Davis into the path of Ivan Perisic. The Croatia man's effort fails to trouble Lopes, though.

50' Bayern have been in complete control in the first five minutes of the second half. Lyon can't get the ball!

46' And we're back underway. Niklas Süle has come on for Jerome Boateng for Bayern. Mendes comes on for Bruno Guimaraes for Lyon.

Halftime: Bayern increasingly seized control of the first half after just before Gnabry struck with his first. With a two-goal lead, you would think they have one foot in Sunday's final. However, Lyon could easily have had one or two before Bayern got onto the board, and an early goal in the second period would put them right back into it. Hansi Flick's men need to be alert to those long balls in behind the back line.

45' Antonio Mateu Lahoz blows the whistle to end an exciting first half of this second Champions League semifinal. 

41' Ekambi gets in behind the Bayern back line again but his first touch lets him down, Boateng clears, the resulting Lyon corner is cleared too.

38' Gnabry almost sets up a third, but Lewandowski can't quite get onto the end of his cross to the far post. 

33' Goal for Bayern Munich! It's Gnabry again! The German international just had to put this one into an open net from a couple of yards out after Lopes kept Lewandowski's effort out. 

30' Levandowski gets ont the end of a one-two, but Lopes is on to him before he can take the ball down and get off a shot. Bayern have been taking much more control in the last few minutes.

25' Gnabry with another dangerous shot that is pushed away by Antony Lopes in the Lyon goal. 

22' Thomas Müller should have made it two! The Bayern attacker got in behind the Lyon back line after a free kick but couldn't get a shot off. 

18' Goal for Bayern Munich! Serge Gnabry receives a long ball on the right wing, cuts into the middle and scores with a beautiful shot from the top of the box!

17' Lyon break in behind Bayern's back line again. Ekambi's effort comes back off the post to Manuel Neuer's right!

14' Strong attack from Lyon, getting into the area, but a couple of Bayern defensive blocks keep them at bay.

11' Goretzka finds himself in front of goal but scuffs his shot, still forcing a save from the Lyon keeper. The resulting corner comes to nothing.

9' Potentially dangerous cross into the Bayern area, but Alaga is there to clear. Lyon corner. Neuer punches it clear. 

6' Corner for Bayern, but it's easily cleared.

4' Bayern lose the ball at midfield, Lyon play a long ball and Depay gets in behind the Munich defense, however his effort hits the outside netting! Neuer played the angles well.

2' Bayern with a bit of early pressure. 

21:00 And we're underway as Lewadowski kicks off!

20:59 Memphis Depay wins the toss for Lyon and chooses not to swap sides, Bayern to kick off-

20:58 The players are out on the pitch, the Champions League anthem has been played, we're all set to go!

20:55 Antonio Mateu Lahoz will lead an all-Spanish officiating team in this semifinal. This referee is known to like to hand out the cards, with an average of 4.5 bookings per match during this Champions League campaign so far.

20:45 Aside from the fact that there won't be any supporters in Lisbon's Estadio Jose Alvalade tonight, the conditions look perfect for this semifinal. The pitch is in excellent condition and the temperature 15 minutes prior to kickoff is 23 degrees Celcius (73 degrees Fahrenheit).

20:30 Moussa Dembele will be disappointed not to have made Lyon's starting 11 after he came off the bench to score a brace against City. Garcia may be hoping that the former Celtic man can do the same against Bayern tonight. 

20:25 It will come as little surprise that Hansi Flick has chosen to go with the same starting 11 that took apart Barcelona 8-2. His counterpart, Rudi Garcia is also standing pat after his side upset Pep Guardiola's Manchester City 3-1 on Saturday. 

20:15 The teams are out for this semifinal clash in Lisbon! We start with Bayern Munich as they look to take the next step in their march, which they hope will end with them completing the treble on Sunday:

But standing in their way, of course, are Olympique Lyon. This is the team Rudi Garcia has chosen in his bid to upset the Bundesliga and German Cup champions:

Hello and welcome one and all to DW's coverage of the UEFA Champions League semifinal as Bayern look to give themselves a shot at the second treble in club history at Lyon's expense, Our live blog goes LIVE at 20:00 CEST, but until then get the pre-match lowdown on all the major talking points.

• Fun fact!

Bayern have won every game in this season's competition, scored 39 goals in the process – the fourth highest tally in Champions League history and the best goal-per-game average of all (4.33). However, it's worth noting have lost their last four semifinals. 

• From the coaches' mouth: Hansi Flick

"Those who know me do not need to be reminded that I refuse to live in the past. Of course we were happy about the result against Barcelona. But we still have plans and we all know how quickly things can happen in football. We need to look ahead, collect energy and then things start at 0-0.

• From the coaches' mouth: Rudi Garcia

"My father named me Rudi because he was a huge cycling fan and back in the day there was a star German, Rudi Altig. So I guess you could say I'm a little bit German."

• Fun fact!

All eight of the past meeting between Bayern and Lyon all came in the Champions League between 2000 and 2010, the latest of which was a semifinal, which the German record titleholders won comfortably 4-0 on aggregate. 

• From the player's mouth: Jerome Boateng

"On the whole, the atmosphere in the dressing room is very good. You can see that we do things like a family here and that shows on the pitch as well. We're all here for each other."

• Fun fact!

Thomas Müller has played 113 matches in the UEFA Champions League, group stage to final; he is now the outright German record holder ahead of Philipp Lahm (112). Bayern's space invader provided an assist to one of Ivica Olic's three goals in the last meeting with Lyon back in 2010.

• Possible line-ups: Bayern Munich

Neuer - Kimmich, Boateng, Alaba, Davies - Goretzka, Thiago - Perišić, Müller, Gnabry - Lewandowski

• Possible line-ups: Lyon

Lopes - Denayer, Marcelo, Marçal - Dubois, Caqueret, Guimarães, Aouar, Cornet - Depay, Dembélé