A real wall! Pau Cubarsí 'dried' Thomas Müller in the Barça-Bayern

Published:24/10/2024 - 03:50h

Updated:24/10/2024 - 08:33h

Pau Cubarsí did not look out of place in his first game against Bayern Munich. The youth player played the 90 minutes and was in charge of nullifying Thomas Müller, a nightmare in the recent past for FC Barcelona

FC Barcelona crushed Bayern Munich on matchday three of the UEFA Champions League league phase (4-1), again with Pau Cubarsí in a starring role. Beyond the difficulties that the Barça team went through in the first quarter of an hour, the defense responded with character against the always dangerous Bavarian attack.

In the case of '2', he fully fulfilled the mission of nullifying Thomas Müller, the 'ace' up Vincent Kompany's sleeve in the face of Jamal Musiala's physical doubts. The '25' was a true culé executioner in the recent past, but he could not do much during his visit to Montjuïc due to the good defensive work of Pau and his ideal partner in the center of the defence, Iñigo Martínez.

The youth player was not as aggressive as usual at the start (he only completed 1 of 5 long passes), but he did meet the mark (he only lost 1 individual duel). Additionally, he completed 7 defensive actions, with 3 interceptions, 2 clearances and 1 blocked shot.

Barça fans took 'revenge' on Thomas Müller

In the 59th minute, with the score already 4-1, Vincent Kompany gave in to desperation and, to seek some response from his team, made four changes in a single window. Müller was, logically, one of those sacrificed by the Belgian coach and the Montjuïc fans took the opportunity to give him a loud whistle.

A victory and a 'adjust of accounts'

😤 The pitada of Montjuïc to Thomas Müller. #LaCasaDelFútbol #UCL pic.twitter.com/oujxysdtxh
— Football in Movistar Plus+ (@MovistarFutbol) October 23, 2024

And, without a doubt, the experienced forward was one of those who did the most damage to Barça in their last losses against the Munich team (he participated in 10 goals in their last 9 games against Barcelona, with 2 goals and a couple of assists ) and the Barcelona fans took the opportunity to 'revenge' the historic German attacker, world champion in 2014.

Thomas barely completed a dribble in two attempts, while, in individual duels, he could only win 3 out of 5, with no fouls received and only a 72% accuracy rate in delivery (he completed 23 of 32 passes).

Without Jamal Musiala (substitute due to physical discomfort), Bayern lacked depth and imbalance, largely thanks to the great work done by the Iñigo-Cubarsí duo, a guarantee for the culés this season. Not in vain, both have started in 12 of the 13 games played by Barça so far (10 in the League, 3 in the Champions League).