Barcelona took on Bayern Munich Wednesday night in front of a sold out crowd at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany for the final of 2011 Audi Cup.
Both sides chose to play a host of young players along with a few of their normal strong starters. Barca mixed up their lineup somewhat from the previous tie against Internaccional and chose the combination of Andres Iniesta and Thiago Alcantara in the midfield which proved to be a solid decision. Bayern were forced to start several normal subs due to the fact that Arjen Robben and Franck Ribbery were out with injuries.
Overall it was a very competent match, both sides showing a lot of skill and getting chances on goal. Bayern Munich had the first clear cut chance of the match mid-way through the first half but weren’t able to convert. They would regret that miss even more when Thiago scored several minutes later with a beautiful finish off his head into the side netting.
The second half was dominated by Barcelona, Bayern had trouble holding possession against the Spanish giants and barely were able to create any chances. Barca sealed the deal in the 75th when Thiago hit the net from outside the area. It was a true wonder goal from the 20-year-old, curling the ball into the upper corner, and giving the keeper absolutely no chance to a hand to it.
It was a great match and Barcelona clearly deserved to hoist the trophy after the 90 minutes came to an end.
Barcelona are now headed to the US for an American tour, their first match will be against Manchester United on July 30th in Washington D.C.