Comprehensive Barca Win Showcases Bayern's Lack of Depth in Champions League

They should have sent a poet. The manner in which Lionel Messi's Barcelona twisted, turned and pulled Bayern Munich apart was the epitome of what it means to be the very best in world football at the moment.

This wasn't just a victory—it was a battle cry, a statement of intent. Barca want the Champions League, and as they showed on Wednesday, they are more than willing to crush the German champions to get to it.

Yet alongside the 3-0 victory for Luis Enrique's side, there shall stand a small, somewhat significant asterisk.

Bayern were, after all, a side tormented with injuries and missing key players. The Spanish giants certainly deserved their win, but they simultaneously went a long way to proving just how poor Pep Guardiola's reserves truly are.

The Bavarian giants were, of course, without Arjen Robben, David Alaba, Franck Ribery and Holger Badstuber, while Robert Lewandowski started the match with a face mask and still recovering from concussion a week before. This was a bare-bones side for Guardiola to use, and it certainly showed on the night.

Perhaps the most notable player who has continued to keep his spot in Bayern's side throughout the campaign has been Xabi Alonso. Despite a bright start at the club last summer, the heavy campaign has taken its toll on Alonso, especially in such European nights.

The former Liverpool and Real Madrid midfielder was heralded for his flawless passing throughout his prime, yet the man who sat at the foot of Bayern's midfield was slow, jaded and all too inconsistent in finding the right target with his passes.

Squawka

Looking at the Squawka graphic of Alonso's passing on the night, we can clearly see that he was far from his best with a number of incomplete passes in the middle of the pitch, with just 88 percent of his passes finding the right players.

That's a far cry from what Bayern needed in the middle of the pitch that night—the athleticism and technique of Alaba—and a worrying sign that Guardiola simply had nobody else to play that role.

Instead, the likes of Philipp Lahm, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Thiago Alcantara were asked to push forward and accommodate spots in the attacking midfield roles that had been deserted by Robben and Co. This is where we find further fault in Guardiola's squad.

The injuries to Ribery and Robben were troublesome and unfortunate to an extent, but they were far from unexpected. Both players have long histories with troubles on the sideline, yet Bayern made very little effort to tackle such a problem this season.

On the night, the only likely contenders for both wing positions were Thomas Muller and Mario Gotze—the former much more of a forward who rarely enjoys staying wide in attack and the latter a player who has failed to impress this season.

For a club the size of Bayern, this simply doesn't cut it. Where are the wingers who can simply step into Robben and Ribery's place? Instead, Guardiola had central midfielders and converted full-backs, with Mitchell Weiser—a youth player whose contract expires this summer—on the bench.

Similarly, such a problem was far too apparent up front, where a lacklustre and far-from-fit Lewandowski limped across the field for the entire 90 minutes with little hope of breaking through a stubborn Barcelona defence.

Manu Fernandez/Associated Press

Wearing a protective mask for his shattered face, the Poland international should have been nowhere near a football pitch on the night, yet due to the lack of any real alternatives, Guardiola simply had no choice. Lewandowski wasn't match fit or sharp enough and ultimately took up a spot in Bayern's side that could have gone to a competent second striker.

Such factors will, of course, play a large part in next week's second leg, where Bayern are expected to offer a much more comprehensive attempt at matching the might of Barcelona. Robben, Ribery, Alaba and Badstuber will still be out, but Guardiola may have a slightly fitter and sharper Lewandowski to rely on. 

The Bavarian giants have often relied upon their superiority in home matches—as Porto and Shakhtar Donetsk can begrudgingly attest to—yet if they are to wrestle this tie back into their own hands, they'll need more than just an all-firing striker. Bayern need worthy replacements to the aforementioned stars to be counted on when it matters. 

This will go down in the history books as a game wrapped in applause for the majesty of Barcelona and the brilliance of Messi. Befittingly so. Yet beneath the Barca applause lies a bitter Bayern voice of discontent at what could have been if only the right players were in place.

@SBienkowski