Pep Guardiola did not have all of his midfielders available for Bayern Munich's friendly against his former club, Barcelona. But instead of playing fewer midfielders ? even for one meaningless game ? he moved defender and captain Philipp Lahm up the pitch and still refused to start any strikers.
From Reuters:
Against a second-string Barcelona, missing new coach Gerardo Martino and big signing Neymar as well as midfielders Xavi and Andres Iniesta among others, Guardiola started the game without a striker.
Captain Philipp Lahm was pushed forward into an offensive midfield role after years of playing as right back and recent signing and former Barcelona talent Thiago Alcantara moved straight into midfield.
The result? The 5'7" Lahm managed to float up into the rarified air of maybe five feet and nine inches off the ground to head a Franck Ribery cross past goalkeeper Jose Manuel Pinto and put Bayern up 1-0 in the 13th minute. This could be the moment that prompts Pinto to reevaluate his career as a professional footballer.
Bayern went on to win the match 2-0 with striker Mario Mandzukic adding the other goal in the 87th minute, presumably after sneaking into the match when Guardiola's back was turned.
Losing to his former manager and getting held scoreless yet again by the team that beat them on an aggregate score of 7-0 in the Champions League semifinal last season was apparently a bit too much for Leo Messi to take...
Maybe he was just hiding from Bayern mascot Berni the bear.
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