Serge Gnabry scored two goals in Wednesday’s Champions League semi-final against Lyon to keep Bayern Munich on course to repeat their 2013 treble after a 3-0 victory.
Robert Lewandowski added the third for his 55th goal of the season as Bayern go on to face Paris Saint-Germain in Sunday’s final.
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| Robert Lewandowski heads in at the far post. Photograph: Getty Images |
Gnabry gave Bayern an early lead in the Lisbon semi-final with a powerful shot, then doubled the Germans’ lead with a first-half tap-in before being replaced by Philippe Coutinho for the final 15 minutes.
Seconds after a shot by Lyon forward Karl Ekambi hit Bayern’s post, Gnabry opened the scoring with a stunning piece of skill.
After trapping Joshua Kimmich’s long-range pass, Gnabry cut in from the right wing, beat two defenders and powered his shot out of reach of Lyon goalkeeper Anthony Lopes with 18 minutes gone.
Gnarby, 25, then doubled Bayern’s lead on 33 minutes by tapping home after Lopes parried a Lewandowksi shot.
His brace leaves Gnabry on nine Champions League goals this season, including four in Bayern’s stunning 7-2 demolition of Tottenham in the group stages.
After Bayern’s goal romp at Tottenham last October, Gnabry, a former Arsenal winger could not resist tweeting “North London is RED!!!”.
He netted two more goals in London last February in a 3-0 win at Chelsea in the last 16, first leg tie.
Gnabry also scored Bayern’s third in Friday’s jaw-dropping 8-2 rout of Barcelona in the quarter-finals.
Gnabry is this season’s third-highest scorer in the Champions League behind Lewandowski (15), who headed Bayern’s third goal against Lyon, and Dortmund teenager Erling Braut Haaland (10).
In helping Bayern win an eighth straight league title and lift the German Cup this season, Gnabry has now scored 23 goals in 45 games in all competitions.
He celebrated his stunning opener on Wednesday by making the gesture of stirring a spoon in a pot.
Earlier this season, he revealed, “I’m a big fan of the NBA, especially James Harden”.
The Houston Rockets playmaker celebrates with the same pot-stirring gesture when he lands a big shot.
Born in Stuttgart, Gnabry joined the Bundesliga club when he was 12.
From Stuttgart’s academy, where he played alongside future Germany team-mates Timo Werner and Joshua Kimmich, Gnabry’s performances attracted Arsenal.
He joined the Gunners after his 16th birthday in 2011 and was promoted to Arsenal’s reserves after less than a season with the Under-18 squad.
“I went to England because everyone told me not to go, that I couldn’t make it. I wanted that challenge,” Gnabry says of his time in north London.
After only a handful off appearances for Arsenal, Gnabry spent 2015/16 on loan at West Bromwich Albion before being selected for Germany’s Olympic team.
He won a silver medal, aged 21, and finished joint top-scorer with six goals at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro games as Germany lost to the Neymar-led Brazil in the final.
His senior debut followed in November 2016 with a hat-trick at minnows San Marino in Germany’s 8-0 away romp in a World Cup qualifier.
He returned to Germany for 2016/17 with Werder Bremen where he scored 11 goals in 27 appearances for the Bundesliga strugglers.
Bayern bought him in 2017, but immediately loaned him to Hoffenheim, before Gnabry joined the German giants permanently for 2018/19.
He has replaced Arjen Robben, whose winning goal in the London final gave Bayern their last Champions League title in 2013.
Prospects of Lyon losing key players after big loss
(Lyon's players have learned a valuable lesson but whether they will be around next season to put those into practice for the French club remain doubtful with certain performances catching the eye of bigger European sides.)
Had Olympique Lyonnais' Memphis Depay and Karl Toko Ekambi found the back of the net in the opening 16 minutes against Bayern Munich on Wednesday (Aug 19), the Champions League may have had its first ever all-French final.
Instead, Paris St Germain will now face the German champions while Lyon return home empty-handed and without the opportunity of righting those wrongs next season after they failed to qualify for Europe's premier club competition.
Ligue 1 was the only top-flight league from the 'Big Five' to prematurely end its season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving Lyon in seventh place on a points-per-game basis - thereby missing out on the Europa League as well.
The 3-0 scoreline flatters Bayern as Lyon had their chances but playing in only their second semi-final on the big stage, their inexperience cost them dearly while their German opponents were clinical thanks to a Serge Gnabry masterclass.
Lyon's players have learned a valuable lesson but whether they will be around next season to put those into practice for the French club remain doubtful with certain performances catching the eye of bigger European sides.
Midfielder Houssem Aouar was one of the standout performers for Lyon in this campaign but he may have played his last game for the club with French media reporting Arsenal are interested in signing the talented 22-year-old.
Lyon's top scorer Moussa Dembele, who scored 24 goals this season, may move on too with Lyon sporting director Juninho not mincing his words when talking about their futures.
"There will be departures but I'm not worried," Juninho said. "When you have players who play very well in a competition like this, like Moussa and Houssem... We will have to show the same spirit to be back in the Champions League next season.
"The aim now is to continue working immediately with Ligue 1... We will have to work. If we continue like this, we will be back in this competition."
Lyon have no time to dwell on the loss with Ligue 1 restarting its season this weekend.
Rudi Garcia's side play their first match next week and the Frenchman is aware the semi-final exit may have taken a mental toll on the players.
"We have some psychological work to do with the players to quickly refocus on the league because we can't afford a bad start," Garcia said, adding that the futures of key players was not in his hands but the club president Jean-Michel Aulas.
"We don't know what's going to happen ... But when we look at the team, I didn't have to make it to the Champions League semi-finals to know how good my players are."
AFP/REUTERS
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