As February has finally arrived, the UEFA Champions League commences play once again. After the Group Stage was completed in December, Bayern Munich were drawn against Lazio in the Round of 16. Courtesy of an unbeaten record in the group stage, the German team was anticipated to continue their fine form in the Champions League.

Lately, Bayern’s performances have been quite disappointing, with their most recent encounter culminating in an ugly 3-0 defeat against Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga. For Bayern fans and players alike, there would have been no better opportunity to turn things around than in the first leg of the UCL round of 16.

Unfortunately, the sluggishness in Bayern’s performance was obvious in Italy on Wednesday. They return to Allianz Arena with much work to do in the second leg, as Lazio won a 1-0 victory in the first leg.

The sad fact is that Bayern made it through this entire match without getting a single shot on target. The Bavarians attempted 17 attempts but could not trouble keeper Ivan Provedel with any of them. The team showed no signs of recovering from their huge defeat in Leverkusen.

Early in the first half, Bayern struggled to create rhythm in their play. The second minute saw Joshua Kimmich fire a rocket of a shot following a wonderful cross from Leroy Sane, but the ball was wide of the mark. Little did the Germans know that this would truly be their greatest chance in the first half. The final 45 minutes were riddled with missed chances and squandered opportunities.

Coming out of the halftime break, Bayern seemed to have more energy than the home side but could still not create meaningful chances in the final third. Bayern had more control and possession, but their play in the last third was not seamless.

The momentum turned entirely when Lazio was granted a penalty in the 69th minute. Ciro Immobile delivered the ball across the box to locate Gustav Isaksen. Though the ball was deflected off target, Dayot Upamecano’s reckless challenge drew both the penalty and a red card. Immobile stepped up and slotted the ball past Manuel Neuer.

Bayern finished the game outshooting Lazio 17 to 11, dominating possession 60% to 40%, but did not have the clinical touch to finish the game with a goal. Die Roten will have to be considerably better in three weeks when these two sides meet in the second leg at Allianz Arena. (Stats courtesy: Fotmob)