Pro Sports

Gnabry, Lewandowski combine in Bayern's 3-0 win at Chelsea

Posted February 25, 2020 6:00 am

By ROB HARRIS

Bayern's Serge Gnabry celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during the Champions League round of 16 soccer match between Chelsea and Bayern Munich at Stamford Bridge in London, England, Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2020. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein) The Associated Press

LONDON (AP) - The city where Serge Gnabry's career stalled now provides the stage for him to shine.

After scoring four goals at Tottenham in the Champions League group stage, the winger added two more at Chelsea on Tuesday to inspire a 3-0 win in the first leg of the round of 16.

No player has scored more goals in London in the Champions League this season.

The 24-year-old forward combined with Robert Lewandowski to tear Chelsea apart in the second half and put Bayern in a commanding position to reach the quarterfinals.

Not bad for a player who left Arsenal in 2016 after only 18 first-team appearances.

A career revitalized at Werder Bremen and Hoffenheim is now in full flow, with 17 goals in all competitions this season.

'œI'm happy he is scoring so much in London now and not five years ago," Bayern forward Thomas MÃ¼ller said, 'œbecause if that were the case he probably wouldn't be with us now.'ť

Bayern lost to Chelsea in its home stadium in the 2012 Champions League final, but its subsequent visits to the English team's home city have producedsome devastating attacking displays.

After lifting its fifth European Cup at Wembley the following season, Bayern has now inflicted the heaviest home Champions League defeats on Chelsea, Arsenal in a 5-1 win in 2017 and Tottenham in a 7-2 rout in October that was lit up by Gnabry's quadruple strike.

The double at Stamford Bridge came in a three-minute spell at the start of the second half.

'œI have a lot of friends here in London, they were in the stadium,'ť Gnabry said. "They seem to give me extra strength and you saw what happened.'ť

The Premier League's fourth-place team struggled to cope with the intensity of the German league leaders but held out until the 51st minute when Gnabry played a one-two with Lewandowski before slotting the ball past goalkeeper Willy Caballero.

Gnabry started the move that led to the second, releasing Lewandowski on the left flank again and racing forward to receive ball back in the penalty area and placing a calm finish inside the far post.

Alphonso Davies spearheaded the counterattack to create the third, making a lightning run down the left flank and crossing to Lewandowski for a tap-in in the 76th.

Chelsea was completely overwhelmed and had to play with 10 men from the 83rd when Marcos Alonso's yellow card was upgraded to red after a VAR review on an off-the-ball elbowing of Lewandowski.

'œSometimes you have to be brutally honest about it and they outclassed us. It's quite sobering,'ť Chelsea manager Frank Lampard, who lifted the European Cup as a player in 2012 at Bayern. 'œIt's a real reality check for everyone individually in the dressing room.'ť

Chelsea's main priority will now be to lock down one of the four guaranteed Champions League qualification places from the Premier League, as it sits only three points ahead of fifth-placed Manchester United.

Lampard takes Chelsea to Bournemouth on Saturday.

'œI'm more concerned about the big picture here," he said, 'œand how quickly we can recover for the weekend firstly in the Premier League.'ť

The night's other last-16 match was a closer contest with Barcelona drawing 1-1 at Napoli after Antoine Griezmann canceled out Dries Mertens' opener for the Italians.

___

More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/Soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Bayern's Serge Gnabry, bottom, celebrates with his teammate after scoring the opening goal of his team during the Champions League round of 16 soccer match between Chelsea and Bayern Munich at Stamford Bridge in London, England, Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2020. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein) The Associated Press

Fans hold banner during a first leg, round of 16, Champions League soccer match between Chelsea and Bayern Munich at Stamford Bridge stadium in London, England, Tuesday Feb. 25, 2020. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth) The Associated Press

Bayern's Thiago jumps as he warms-up before the Champions League round of 16 soccer match between Chelsea and Bayern Munich at Stamford Bridge in London, England, Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2020. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein) The Associated Press

Bayern's David Alaba, right, challenges Chelsea's Willian during a first leg, round of 16, Champions League soccer match between Chelsea and Bayern Munich at Stamford Bridge stadium in London, England, Tuesday Feb. 25, 2020. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth) The Associated Press

Bayern's Thomas Mueller, left, jumps for the ball with Chelsea's Antonio Rudiger during a first leg, round of 16, Champions League soccer match between Chelsea and Bayern Munich at Stamford Bridge stadium in London, England, Tuesday Feb. 25, 2020. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth) The Associated Press

Chelsea's Olivier Giroud, top right, and Chelsea's Marcos Alonso, center, clear the ball over Bayern's Thomas Mueller during a first leg, round of 16, Champions League soccer match between Chelsea and Bayern Munich at Stamford Bridge stadium in London, England, Tuesday Feb. 25, 2020. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth) The Associated Press

Chelsea's Olivier Giroud, left, and Bayern's Jerome Boateng jump for the ball during the Champions League round of 16 soccer match between Chelsea and Bayern Munich at Stamford Bridge in London, England, Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2020. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein) The Associated Press

Article Comments

Article Categories
Content Providers MLS Pro Sports Soccer Sports Sports Leagues Sports Types

Article Comments

Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.