Barcelona 3-0 Bayern Munich: 5 Talking Points

Lionel Messi’s second-half brace and Neymar’s stoppage time goal spoiled Pep Guardiola’s homecoming and put Barcelona in a commanding position after the first leg of their Champions League semi-final against Bayern Munich.The hosts dominated the early exchanges but with no reward. And just when it looked as though a fascinating game was going to finish goalless, Messi fired home from the edge of the box to give the Catalans a vital lead.The Argentine doubled that three minutes later. As the visitors went in search of the crucial game, Neymar raced through unchallenged and scored as Luis Enrique’s side exacted some measure of revenge for their 3-0 home defeat in 2013.Here are the major talking points from the game:

#1 Football at its finest

One of the problems with big games is that they seldom live up to the hype. But this did and more. With two coaches who only know one way of playing football, the game was a spectacle unlike any other. If Tuesday's clash between Juventus and Real Madrid was open and entertaining, this just pushed it up another notch. Although the game was goalless until the final 15 minutes, there was no doubting the entertainment value provided by both sides, who wanted to score and take the game away from the other.

But given the scoreline, it looks unlikely that this will be repeated next Tuesday. As disappointed as Bayern are with the result, they can be proud of the fact that they were the reason this game was arguably the game of the season.