After Bayern thrashed Barca 4-0, I'm actually quite convinced that Bayern have very convincingly become the best team in Europe. Barca were all over the place, and their defense (as I have emphasized THOUSANDS of times) is absolute crap. I don't find Puyol's absence to be a righteous excuse for Barca. A team of their caliber and money ought to have the depth to cover such an important player like Puyol in their squad, rather than spend hundreds of millions on strikers and wingers. But, one thing to consolidate Barcelona is that if there's any team in Europe that can beat Bayern 4-0, its THEM. And that's one SCARY thought, ladies and gentlemen. 

I'm actually scared sh*tless for Madrid now. IF (emphasis on the word IF) we beat Dortmund, we're gonna be harassed. O.O

Even IF we beat Barca 3-1. Bayern beat them FOUR to nothing. I think Bayern already have one hand on the trophy.

I think it's been a steady, purposeful evolution of the team. They've managed to combine the dazzling passing and technique of Barcelona, with the grit, organization and athleticism of the last decade's Chelsea. Every time they fell short, they improved, redoubled, and back back even stronger.

In 2009 they were naive. So they improved.
In 2010 they were almost there, but not quite good enough. So they improved.

In 2012 they forced Chelsea into a night of sheer heroism to beat them. So they improved.

And now they're better than everyone, and every league. 

Yeah, barring a miracle, the shift in power is pretty obvious. And deserved.

instead of hundreds of dumb passes at opponent's half they simply, easy and fast came through the defense. Much better than tiki-taka, ehm?

@quikzyyy

Actually, I think that the only teams that can successfully perform tiki-taka are Barcelona and Spain. And since they have basically the same set of players, there's no way to "compare" tiki-taka to other styles. But yes, I do prefer the quick and effective passes to counter-attack over tiki-taka, but that's a personal opinion. Don't forget that Barcelona's tiki-taka once won them 6 trophies in a single season.

Watch out juventus will win UCL next season. They will buy neymar

Bayern out-classed Barça this time, BIG time.
The excuse of the ref favoring Bayern is out of the question as well. He made some mistakes on both of their ends.
Zero shots ON TARGET for Barça. Bayern's defense was extremely organized, and not only did they counter effectively, but they were also able to hold their share of possession, which I think says a lot about the team. I'm used to seeing Barça smother their opposition with a few bodies as soon as they touch the ball to intercept it almost immediately, or they force the opposition to pass and move in a direction calculated by Barça themselves.
That Barça was totally non-existent.

 Having said that, I can't wait for the return leg at Camp Nou! Should be a cracking atmosphere.

The only FCB!!! What a game!!!!!!

^Man whats wrong with your field.^

^It turned grey with the tears of Barca.^

Or maybe its because you looked at it 

jk

Bayern are very good at winning two-legged games, but the final is going to be difficult for them. If there is one manager who can pull this off, it is Mourinho. He did it with Inter against Bayern in 2010 final, and I am sure he'll pull it off again. One thing about Bayern is that in Europe this year, in the three times they did not get the first goal of the match, they lost two (Against Arsenal and BATE) and drew one (against Valencia). So, this tells me that their mentality hasn't been tested to its limits, and when it was, they did not perform under pressure. So Madrid or Dortmund need to score the first goal in the final, and I guarantee Bayern will be left frustrated. Barcelona, as far as I am concerned, are out of the tournament.  

@TheGame

We're not sure if Bayern can sustain mental pressure or not yet, but I guess your data proves your theory. As for the final, I'm not sure that Madrid can beat them. Honestly, as a full-hearted Real Madrid fan, I'm TERRIFIED at what Bayern could do to us if we make the final. But I'd rather lose in the final to the best team in the world than lose in the semi's to a bunch of teenagers.

As for Dortmund, they have the full capability to beat Madrid, but we were robbed of all of our full-backs last time due to injuries. Marcelo, Coentrao, and Arbeloa were all out. So we MIGHT be able to pull this one off, but if Dortmund win, I think they have the best chance of beating Bayern, as they have already faced them in the league, and know them pretty well. That being said, Bayern have more of a drive to win the CL, so I expect the trophy this year to go to Munich.

"But I'd rather lose in the final to the best team in the world than lose in the semi's to a bunch of teenagers."

LOL. +1

@Dynastian98, I agree with most of the things you said. However, I think Dortmund picked the wrong time to allow Bayern Munich to trigger Gotze's release clause. It is basically an admission of "go ahead and take our most exciting prospects as you are Bayern, and just by the virtue of that fact you have absolute supremacy over us". I mean WTF were they thinking, essentially handing the Bundesliga title to Bayern for the next (at least) 3 years? Who is next? Hummels? Lewandowski? The point is, by admitting their inferiority, which will have devastating impact throughout the team, Dortmund have mentally surrendered the UCL this year. Furthermore, comparing Madrid's results against Barca to Bayern's is a fallacy. When looking at both teams side by side, you can see that Madrid have more ways of negating the counter-attacking style of football Bayern possess than Barca. Madrid have physical prowess (so no easy headers like today's game), a tactical maestro in Jose Mourinho, revenge on their minds from last year, and, more importantly, Cristiano Ronaldo. Madrid beat Bayern 3-1 in the final. That's my prediction.  

Since the beginning of the season I said Bayer were going to reach the final, and I said the final and not champions because they could be the best team by far and the favorites and everything but they always get trashed in the end. Chelsea Inter and even Manchester were not the teams supposed to win the UCL final. They are very unlucky to perform so poorly on finals. 

Hats off  to the beast team in the europe right now

The short Barca era is now over. Everyone has now figured out their boring and pointless tiki taka shit. It's easy, just defend with 10 men back, let them get near the box then boom, counter attack them and if you have decent players the chances are you will score against their awful defense. As for Bayern, well they are the best team in Europe.

Sorry but I'm really scared of facing them if we eventually win against Dortmund.

True.

Spain's era of tiki taka might be over. It's time for German efficiency.