Manchester City sledgehammered Bayern Munich’s best result in the era of Pep Guardiola.

Manchester City 3:0 Bayern Munich (Rodri 27, Bernardo 70, Haaland 77)

ETIHAD STADIUM. Who knows if we’ll see them in Istanbul when the European Cup finals are doing strange things to the feet and heads of Pep Guardiola’s students. There may even be a collapse of the second leg, although this would require something seismic.

But listen: of the 398 games Guardiola has played in for this costly expansionist side, they may never have played better. Bayern is one of the pillars of this league. Marble was first bitten off and then attacked with sledgehammers.

It’s impossible to say that without sounding disrespectful, but don’t let that stop you: these are the games these clubs live for. Bayern and Manchester City do not and will not win their league titles every season, but there is always a new opportunity and the view from the top of these mountains has become familiar. It is in the weak atmosphere of the Champions League spring football that both can find the meaning of their existence.

Of course, there is also a less charitable twist, which includes the deliberate destruction of internal competition and the line between success and failure reduced to a few mid-week multi-knockout moments. But the effect is the same. And despite all the desperation about where football is headed, if you like this game, you should enjoy this type of match in its own context: two brilliant teams, tactically trained, but producing football that goes round and round to the naked eye. .

It was a really brilliant match. Manchester City had the ball, the ground and enough control to make it look like it wasn’t a game. Bayern were simply out of reach, planning their lightning fast counterattacks and hoping to absorb the pressure well enough to play their part in their arrival. They did not come after the breakdown; they came for one.

Fifteen minutes before Rodri received the ball 25 meters from the goal, he went a little further and a little further under his feet. Обыкновенные крики «шоооооооооооооооооооооооооооооооооооооооооооооооооооооооооооооооооооооооольхи». This is Manchester City, mate. There are better options than a defensive midfielder making an accurate shot from this distance… Ah. Since you were.

Don’t underestimate how demoralizing a game against Manchester City must be and that it is happening. You control every vehicle, lock every door, and post guards at every corner. You refuse to make the mistake of thinking it’s worth it to be on top of the court, and instead do the right thing by sitting low and fighting back against that team of bells and whistles. They then pass the ball a bit and it would seem the defender scores his first Champions League goal with his weaker foot from outside the penalty area.

We need to talk about Rodri, not least because he is an exceptional player to watch live. We used to call midfielders the Heartbeat XI. Rodri is more like a nervous system that goes through every match. He leaves his fingerprints less on loud matches and more on giant tracks like the T-Rex in Jurassic Park next to the tour car.

It’s funny to work without a ball. In the first hour of Tuesday’s opener, Manchester City somehow managed to get the ball 44 times. Rodri alone was responsible for 14 of them. And when he gets it, the tough competition instantly turns into a sultry passer and a boastful boastful midfielder. He is everything, everywhere, all at once. It can annoy Calvin Phillips that he struggled within minutes of his move. Sit down and watch like the rest of us, man. And you get paid better for it.

Who knows if Thomas Tuchel’s Bayern are an upgrade from Julian Nagelsmann’s Bayern, but if ever a team matched their manager’s position, it was them. Attacking, Tuchel ducked and yelled, waving his arms as if trying to combine the experience of every English game he had missed since leaving Chelsea. Bayern acted quickly in defense and clearly lost in the end.

Questions are asked, as always when Bayern don’t win a football match. It was this tightrope play that claimed Bayern’s life, not least because Dayot Upamecano was the only outfield player in the game who couldn’t read it at double speed. He was at fault for at least one goal, but his uncertainty extended to those in front and behind him.

But let’s not start and end with a negative arc. With two minutes left in normal time, the ball was sent into the channel for the winger or winger to run in as they did. And who was this winger? John Stones, who slipped 90 seconds early and won a tackle near his own penalty area. Stones had control of the ball, turned around and casually passed to Bernard Silva behind him. It was such a night. This is such a team.