UEFA Champions League 2014/15 Season Awards
By Ryan Wrenn
Best Game
Honestly, there are too many to choose from. It can be difficult for a true neutral – or, say, a fan of a team that has a perennially difficult time making it into the Champions League – to work up passion for either side of any given game, but time and time again that was a problem easily overcome. The knockout rounds of this competition have featured some truly memorable games that it was hard not to get worked up about, from the aforementioned Messi solo project against City and PSG’s team effort against Chelsea to Monaco’s shock result against Arsenal and Real Madrid’s heroic attempt to get kicked in the face by Schalke.
Alas, the structure of this piece demands that there only be one Best Game. So let’s go with the obvious candidate: Barcelona 3 – 0 Bayern. The game had everything. Two of the best teams in the world meeting in the lead-up to the greatest club game of the year. Balon d’Or finalists Messi and Manuel Neuer facing off against one another. The off-field intrigue of Pep Guardiola returning to the club that made him. It was going to be a great game even before the players walked out on the pitch.
For such an entertaining game, it’s a bit surprising that Barcelona didn’t score until the 77th minute. Which is not to say they were utterly dominant; Bayern put up an impressive defensive display despite Guardiola having to change his tactics 15 minutes in when it became obvious that three-at-the-back wasn’t enough to contain Neymar, Suarez and Messi. The game was aching for a goal however, and Messi delivered two and set up the third on the way to sealing the two-legged tie before it was even halfway over. In truth, a healthy and fulled equipped Bayern might have made it an even better game, but as it was it still stood out from a crowded and quality set of Champions League matches.
Next: Most Promising Team