A merciless Bayern Munich inflicted a humiliating, record defeat on Barcelona on Friday, recording a scarcely believable 8-2 victory in their Champions League quarter-final in Lisbon to leave Lionel Messi forlorn and surely hastening in the end of an era in Catalonia.
Thomas Mueller scored twice either side of goals from Ivan Perisic and Serge Gnabry in a stunning opening 31 minutes at an empty Estadio da Luz, with a David Alaba own-goal having briefly brought Barcelona back level.
Luis Suarez pulled it back to 4-2 at one point in the second half, but Barcelona then caved in, with Joshua Kimmich getting Bayern's fifth before three more goals in the final stages, one for the prolific Robert Lewandowski and two for substitute Philippe Coutinho.
That was the really humiliating part for the beaten side, with Coutinho on loan in Bavaria from Barcelona, who spent 160 million euros on signing the Brazilian in 2018 but never got the best out of him.
"We knew it is never easy against Barcelona, but this is an unbelievable result," said Kimmich. "It's hard to comprehend."
It is Barcelona's worst European defeat and the worst of Messi's career. The game was eerily reminiscent of Germany's 7-1 destruction of Brazil in the 2014 World Cup, a game in which Mueller also played and scored.
Germany went on to win that World Cup and Bayern look a good bet to win this Champions League, although they will surely face a sterner test in the semi-final regardless of whether it is against Manchester City or Lyon.
"In the 7-1 win in Brazil we didn't have the same amount of control. Yes we were good but tonight the way we dominated the game was brutal," said Mueller.
This was Bayern's 19th consecutive victory in all competitions, and a 28th game unbeaten for Hansi Flick's side. They have now scored 39 goals in nine Champions League outings this season.
