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Gnabry, Lewandowski Fire Bayern Munich By Lyon to Champions League Final

Lyon missed two golden early chances, and Bayern capitalized, with Serge Gnabry's two goals and Robert Lewandowski's late header the difference.

Avi Creditor

A decade later, Bayern Munich notched a similar result against Lyon in a Champions League semifinal. 

Bayern Munich beat Lyon on Wednesday in Portugal, 3-0, in a rematch of the 2010 semifinal that went Bayern's way by a 4-0 scoreline (across two legs). A double from Serge Gnabry was ultimately the difference, with the goals following a pair of early missed chances from Lyon's Memphis Depay and Karl Toko Ekambi. Robert Lewandowski finished off Lyon by making it 3-0 in the 88th minute.

Bayern go on to face PSG for Europe's top prize on Sunday, a battle between clubs that have won every trophy they've contested this season. Bayern won the Bundesliga and the DFB Pokal, while PSG won the Ligue 1, Coupe de France and Coupe de la Ligue trophies. 

Lyon nearly struck for a shocking opener in the fourth minute. Depay was played through on a lightning-quick counterattack, splitting a pair of defenders and breaking in on goal. He rounded the onrushing Manuel Neuer but could only put his chance wide of the mark.

Bayern missed a great chance of its own a few minutes later. Leon Goretzka was played in behind on the right, but he whiffed on his shot, instead meekly hitting it off his heel. The ball still trickled toward the goal line, where Anthony Lopes had to dive to put it out of play just to be sure. 

The breakneck pace of the match continued into the 13th minute, where Maxwel Cornet got through down the left, and the only thing that prevented him from having a clear cross to an unmarked Ekambi in front of the goal was a sliding challenge from Jerome Boateng.

Ekambi got his chance from in close soon after, dodging Alphonso Davies and David Alaba and firing on frame, only for his shot to ping off the post. 

Some 58 seconds later, Bayern made Lyon pay for the wastefulness. Gnabry cut through defenders into the top of the box and unleashed a powerful left-footed shot to give Bayern a 1-0 lead on a shot that was reminiscent of countless goals scored by former Bayern great Arjen Robben.

Gnabry doubled the lead in considerably more simple fashion in the 33rd minute. Lewandowski was denied at the goal mouth by Lopes after scuffing his opportunity, but the goalkeeper conceded a rebound, and Gnabry pounced at point-blank range to make it 2-0.

Gnabry nearly got his third, cutting to his left for another shot from inside the box, albeit at an angle. It went wide, and Lewandowski couldn't quite redirect it with his outstretched leg, keeping the score at 2-0.

Ivan Perisic also had a chance to extend the lead to 3-0, getting in behind the Lyon defense six minutes after halftime, only to hit his low shot right at Lopes.

Lyon kept trying to play its way back into the game, and it had a great chance to do so in the 58th minute. After Lyon won the ball back in Bayern's half, Houssem Aouar crossed for a wide-open Ekambi by the far post, only for a sliding Neuer to make the save and keep the French side scoreless.

Lewandowski finished off Lyon in the 88th minute with a header off a corner kick, continuing his run of scoring in every Champions League appearance this season and giving him an astounding 55 goals in all competitions.

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Here were the lineups for both teams:

Bayern will play in Sunday's final at Benfica's Estadio da Luz.

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Avi Creditor
AVI CREDITOR

Avi Creditor is a senior editor and has covered soccer for more than a decade. He’s also a scrappy left back. 

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