Bayern Munich vs. Manchester City: Germans' Experience Decisive in 2-0 Win

Carlos Tevez' impersonation of Scottie Pippen in the '94 NBA playoffs (Pippen refused to enter for the final moments when Chicago Bulls coach Phil Jackson drew up the last shot of the game for another player) will certainly get the headlines, but the overwhelming lesson learned on an early autumn night in Munich was that Manchester City has a glaring lack of Champions League experience.

Manchester City's flurry of recent signings was on full display in the first half, with industrial midfielders Samir Nasri, David Silva and Yaya Toure giving the host Bayern defense fits (though Nasri would tail off sharply in the second half). Despite this, the Citizens still entered the halftime break down 2-0.

It was a vintage display from a Munich side steeped in Champions League experience. Much of the side from their run to the final in 2010 remains intact, with mainstays Bastian Schweinsteiger, Philip Lahm, and Thomas Muller still pulling the strings.

Manchester City, as match commentator Martin Tyler pointed out, also had numerous players with  European experience on their resumes, but this season marks the team's first-ever foray into the cauldron of top-tier football.

To take nothing away from a City team that looks certain to contend for the crown (remember, that Bayern side from '09-10 got off to a slow start in their group stage that season as well, losing at home to Bordeaux)—they simply ran up against a well-drilled, well-disciplined side that was intent on maintaining a clean sheet and slowly exerting their own blend of dominance upon the match.

Joe Hart, the City keeper, will look back in dismay upon this tie, as his excellent first-half performance was rendered irrelevant by two goals from a reinvigorated Mario Gomez, who simply cannot stop scoring this season.

On Bayern's first in the 37th minute—a well-drilled shot on the edge of the penalty area from winger Franck Ribery—Hart did well to save, only for the ball to spill to an onrushing Muller, who saw his close-range effort parried away magnificently by Hart and into the path of Gomez, who puttered home from within five meters.

The second (45+1 min) was a classic lesson in (how not to) marking. Kolo Toure, an ex-Gunner, reverted back to the shoddy defense that currently plagues Arsenal, allowing Gomez to pounce upon a Tony Kroos free kick at the near post, where the German international nudged in his brace.

Hart looked murderous, and deservedly so. Bayern are too skilled a side to be given golden opportunities like that, especially at home. City had handled the hosts for the better part of the first 25 minutes, only to see Bayern roar back into life as the match progressed into its second of three portions.

One has to wonder whether that long drug-suspension layoff has affected Toure, who only returned to English competition last week (he was allowed to play in the Champions League, and was named to the Man City bench against Napoli two weeks ago). He looked a far cry from his customary composed self in central defense.

The trip to Munich was always going to be the sternest test for City in this group. With Villarreal floundering, that next tie against the Yellow Submarine looks that much more enticing.