Bayern Munich's strategy was all about striking a balance: they found a happy medium between patience and directness, between physicality and technique and between playing their own game and reacting to exploit Barcelona's weaknesses.

Without the ball Bayern pressed at goal-kicks, forcing Barcelona into misplaced passes inside their own half – but once the away side had possession in midfield, Bayern sat deeper and kept a solid defensive shape. Mario Gomez and Thomas Müller would not have been Bayern's front two had Mario Mandzukic and Toni Kroos been available but they showed admirable defensive discipline, ensuring that Sergio Busquets was occupied and often unusually panicky with his distribution. Bastian Schweinsteiger was outfoxed by Xavi Hernández a couple of times in the opening moments but continued to close him down energetically.

Bayern's key tactical weapon was Javi Martínez, whose primary job was to track Andrés Iniesta's runs – but he played a much broader role, imposing his physicality on the game with a dominant midfield performance. He repeatedly dispossessed Barcelona's midfielders and also stormed forward into attack unexpectedly to drive Bayern up the pitch – he demonstrated precisely why Barcelona were interested in signing him from Athletic Bilbao last summer. This was a landmark performance from the Spanish holding midfielder – he has been widely regarded as a success in his debut campaign at Bayern but here he outperformed his more illustrious international team-mates with an all-round performance Busquets, Xavi and Iniesta might not be capable of.

Lionel Messi looked unfit – which explains his lack of impact – but Iniesta was simply nullified by Martínez. In most Bayern matches he concentrates on reliable passing – but while on Tuesday night 20 other players attempted more passes than him, no one completed more tackles. Even his fouling was useful – he conceded twice as many free-kicks as any other player, which helped disrupt Barcelona's passing. When he was booked following his fifth foul of the night Schweinsteiger altered his game to provide more of a physical presence and then, when both started to tire, Jupp Heynckes introduced Luiz Gustavo to provide renewed energy. This was far from a dirty Bayern performance and their passing ability should not be underestimated but there was sheer force in the midfield zone not witnessed since the notoriously cynical Mark van Bommel ceased to be Schweinsteiger's midfield partner.

Thomas Müller and Mario Gomez occupied Sergio Busquets, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Javi Martínez closed down Xavi and Andrés Iniesta, while arjen Robben and Franck Ribéry stormed forward on the break. Photograph: Guardian

Defending set pieces has long been Barcelona's major weakness – without Carles Puyol and Eric Abidal they lack aerial ability – and Tito Vilanova's players contributed to their own downfall by needlessly conceding cheap corners. Only Gerard Piqué could be regarded as a significant aerial force for the away side and, with Bayern pushing Dante, Martínez, Müller and Gomez into the opposition box, Barcelona were simply overpowered. Even Bayern's set-piece ruthlessness was based around selfless teamwork – Dante and Müller assisted the first two goals with headers back across goal, when they could have attempted to score themselves.

Despite Bayern's evolution into a possession-based side in recent seasons, they retain the counterattacking wing threat that fired them to the 2009-10 European Cup final and, as Barcelona increasingly pushed men forward, Arjen Robben and Franck Ribéry – both remarkably disciplined and hard-working as Bayern established their two-goal lead – dribbled forward on the break to confirm an astonishingly convincing victory.

Some suggested Bayern would attempt to outplay Barcelona at short passing football, but ultimately it was a perfect recipe of Barcelona's traditional problems: set pieces, counterattacks and physicality, that will lead many to suggest the balance of power has shifted from Catalonia to Bavaria.