Proactive Pep Responds in Bayern's Champions League Hunt

After such a gloriously intense 210 minutes of football that so frequently and forcefully swung in different directions, there is now a deeper question than over whether can Pep Guardiola can finally win the Champions League before leaving Bayern Munich. It is a question directly related to that challenge. It is also, in football terms, a rather philosophical one. 

What is more telling about this extra-time victory over Juventus? What is more indicative of Bayern - and relevant to Guardiola’s reputation? Is it the clear failings that put his team 2-0 behind on the night and meant they needed the comeback… or is it the supreme character shown in the comeback itself? Part of Sir Alex Ferguson’s imposing prestige, after all, was built on the latter. 

Any errors were forgotten by the time the Scot's team had come through to win another trophy. All of this discussion will be similarly forgotten if Guardiola does win the Champions League. 

It’s just that this game could eventually be seen as a juncture moment as to whether that happens or not, even if it was a genuinely unique tie. It was certainly a tie of rare quality, although it is even rarer that both teams blow two-goal leads at very different stages in the way they did here. In that regard, it showed both the best and worst of Guardiola. 

Bayern were nothing short of a defensive shambles in the first half, continuing the collapse from the second leg in Turin, where the Italians had come from two down to claim a 2-2 draw. Here, Juventus all too easily went 2-0 ahead on the night and 4-2 ahead on aggregate. 

It also reflected one of the long-term contradictions of Guardiola’s career. Although his sides are so often devastating in possession, the high line necessitated to play that can leave them open and - worse - lead to an odd sleepiness and complacency at the back. A team that dominant always give you a chance, and that was certainly the case here. They were in no way dominant nor devastating. They were only sleepy, none more so than David Alaba. 

The Austrian committed two of Bayern’s three errors, the first of which led to Paul Pogba’s dynamic-changing opening goal. Juventus’ second strike saw no single major error, but a series of small mistakes and sloppy moments. A Bayern attack broke down and Alvaro Morata charged forward to set up Juan Cuadrado.  

The culpable Medhi Benatia and Xabi Alonso were especially sluggish in getting back, but that just reflected the conspicuous and hugely concerning lack of intensity in the Bundesliga champions. It was all the more worrying because that slackness is so out of step with all of Guardiola’s management - where intensity is usually the one guarantee - and all this on the stage that matters most to them. It continued well into the second half.  

By the 71st minute, Bayern had offered just two shots on target. That was remarkable given the scoreline, but what was worse was that there was no thrust to their play, no penetration. The best they could offer was a series of unimaginative and underwhelming crosses, as they tried 21 of them to no avail. It looked like they were about to go out with a whimper, with all manner of debate about Guardiola's dismal failure. 

Then, Douglas Costa succeeded in finally hitting a technically perfect cross - the 22nd of the game. It was a peach of a ball, and allowed Robert Lewandowski to plunder a header. The game changed. Bayern changed. The intensity characteristic of Guardiola had returned. The precision had returned. In stoppage time, Kingsley Coman played a cross that was the equal of Costa’s, and Thomas Muller equalised. 

It reflected even better on Guardiola that Coman had been a sub that helped super-charge Bayern again, in contrast to the way Max Allegri’s decision to remove Alvaro Morata - just before Lewandowski’s goal - had removed Juve’s impetus. 

"It was difficult for us to deal with Morata,” Guardiola admitted, “but when [Mario] Mandzukic came on we were able to control it better.” He had re-asserted control of the tie. It was all the more fitting that another sub - Thiago Alcantara - completed the comeback, and that by so exquisitely completing a one-two with Muller to pass the ball past Gigi Buffon. Coman then finished the scoring, curling a shot over the goalkeeper. 

Bayern were back to their best, showing some of the best spirit possible. Instead of this game changing perceptions of Guardiola for the worse, he changed the game. "This is football,” he reflected afterwards. “One minute they say you’re world beaters, the next you’re a disaster.” 

This is also the job he has chosen. It is precisely because Guardiola went to a club who are so far ahead of their domestic competition that the line between what is perceived success and failure is so thin, and so dependent on individual two-legged ties. Those stakes are only set to escalate. Guardiola must continue to respond, but Bayern must be much more single-minded than in this enthrallingly double-edged tie. 

That is the only way to answer the biggest question of all.

Do you think Bayern will secure Champions League glory this season? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below