Barcelona’s 3-0 victory over Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League semi-final first leg was a feast for football purists – one of the most thoroughly absorbing games in football history, full of magnificent football and tactical intrigue and ultimately decided by instantly iconic moments of genius.
The pre-match talk was all about Pep Guardiola’s first return to the Camp Nou as opposition manager: how would he set his team up? What would he do about Lionel Messi? Would he attempt to out-Barça Barça? In the end, Guardiola stuck to his principles at the expense of giving his team the best possible chance to win.