Uefa Champions League 2012-13 - |verified|

This was less a football match and more an execution. In the first leg at the Allianz Arena, Bayern demolished the reigning champions 4-0. Thomas Müller scored twice, while Mario Gomez and Arjen Robben added others. In the second leg at the Camp Nou, with a weary Messi on the bench, Bayern won 3-0. The 7-0 aggregate loss was Barcelona’s heaviest in European history. It marked the end of Pep Guardiola’s tiki-taka dominance and the rise of high-pressing, vertical football.

The group stage provided the customary blend of predictable dominance and shocking eliminations. Defending champions Chelsea FC suffered a historic embarrassment. Becoming the first reigning champions to exit the tournament at the group stage in the modern era, their campaign was doomed by inconsistency and becoming the first title holders to finish third in their group, resulting in a drop to the UEFA Europa League (which they subsequently won). uefa champions league 2012-13