Serge Gnabry fired Bayern Munich to the brink of the Champions League quarterfinals as the German’s double inspired a superb 3-0 rout of Chelsea in the last-16 first leg at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday.

This was as Antoine Griezmann rescued a 1-1 draw for Barcelona at Napoli in Naples.

Gnabry had tormented Tottenham Hotspur with four goals in Bayern’s 7-2 victory in north London earlier this season and the former Arsenal winger returned to the English capital to push Chelsea to the brink of elimination.

The 24-year-old's time with Arsenal was a disappointment and he even flopped during a loan spell at West Bromwich Albion.

But he has been reborn with Bayern and his two goals in the space of three minutes left Hansi Flick's side within touching distance of the last eight.

Robert Lewandowski got Bayern's third before Chelsea defender Marcos Alonso was sent off in the 83rd minute.

Chelsea will need another Munich miracle in the second leg on March 18 to overturn the deficit at the Allianz Arena, where they famously beat the German club in the 2012 Champions League final.

"I have a lot of friends here. A lot of them were in the stands and I think they were giving me good power," Gnabry told BT Sport of his London goal streak.

"Three goals should give us a lot of confidence. But we need to be prepared for the second leg and we can't take it serious enough.

"We saw last season with Liverpool beating Barcelona, we know we have to be careful and focus."

This hasn't been a vintage year for Bayern, but they have been energised since the exit of disliked boss Niko Kovac and outclassed Chelsea in all phases.

None of the previous six teams to have won all of their Champions League group games have lifted the trophy that season, but five-time winners Bayern will fancy their chances of breaking that duck if they can maintain this form.

Chelsea boss Frank Lampard admitted his young team were "underdogs" against a club of Bayern's vast European experience and his pre-match prediction proved spot on in a chastening defeat.

"The performance was poor and sometimes you have to be brutally honest. They outclassed us in every department and it's quite sobering," Lampard said.

"I'm disappointed we couldn't do more against them. We have to take it on the chin and work towards getting back to the levels we want to be at."

Bayern set the tone when Thomas Mueller forced a save from Willy Caballero inside the first minute after stealing possession from Jorginho.

Flick had warned Chelsea that Lewandowski was in the "form of his life" and the Bayern striker escaped Andreas Christensen for a stinging shot that Caballero blocked with his face.

IRRESISTIBLE BAYERN

Bayern's pressure was mounting and Mueller drifted onto Gnabry's cross to flick a back header against the bar.

Lampard had kept faith with Olivier Giroud after the 33-year-old marked his first start since November with a goal in Saturday's win against Tottenham.

But retaining Giroud at the expense of Tammy Abraham was a big gamble and the Chelsea striker's muscular but immobile presence offered little to unsettle Bayern.

Bayern deservedly took the lead in the 51st minute with a superbly crafted goal.

Gnabry's deft control and pass sent Lewandowski into the Chelsea area and when he cut the ball back, his teammate made a perfectly-timed run to fire low past Caballero.

Moving the ball with pace and precision, Bayern were irresistible and they increased their lead three minutes later thanks to another impressive combination from the Gnabry and Lewandowski double act.

Lewandowski nodded onto Gnabry, took the return pass from the winger and played a sublime through ball to Gnabry, who had accelerated away from the Chelsea defence to guide a cool finish into the far corner.

Bayern weren't finished yet and Lewandowski became the first Bayern player to score in six consecutive Champions League matches when he tapped in from Alphonso Davies's 76th-minute cross for his 39th goal of the season.

Alonso's frustration at Chelsea's plight boiled over when he was sent off for whacking Lewandowski with his arm.

Meanwhile at Naples, Frenchman Griezmann struck just before the hour mark after Dries Mertens had put the hosts ahead in the 30th minute with his 121st Napoli goal, drawing level with Marek Hamsik as the club's all-time top scorer.

Barcelona ended the game with 10 men after Arturo Vidal was sent off with two minutes to go after picking up two yellow cards, following an angry clash with Napoli defender Mario Rui.

"In the end it's a draw that is a good result considering that we have another home game," said Barcelona coach Quique Setien, with his side in a strong position ahead of the second leg at the Camp Nou on March 18.

The clash was the first between the two teams and also a Champions League debut for both Setien and Napoli counterpart Gennaro Gattuso, who took over after the group stage.

"They didn't hurt us, they tickled us," said Gattuso. "It went wrong in one moment and they punished us."

Napoli captain Lorenzo Insigne added: "We could have won, so we're a bit disappointed. It was emotional to face players like (Lionel) Messi."

Messi failed to score on his first appearance at the Stadio San Paolo, where Napoli legend Diego Maradona reigned supreme three decades ago.

The 32-year-old Messi scored four goals at the weekend in Barcelona's 5-0 win over Eibar that put the Spaniards back top of La Liga, but could not add to his 114 Champions League goals.

"If Barca didn't do today what they did three days ago (against Eibar) it's to Napoli's credit," said Gattuso.

"I hope that no one thinks it's over. We know it will be very hard but nothing is finished yet.

"But when on your back you have Messi or Griezmann, you want to play with a little security. This is where we can try to do better on the way back."

NAPOLI PRESSURE

Messi fired over on nine minutes after combining well with Frenkie de Jong but Gattuso's side piled the pressure on the Catalans.

Their pressing paid off on the half-hour mark, with Piotr Zielinski breaking free down the right before finding Mertens, who curled a magnificent finish past Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

He equalled Hamsik's record and is now six goals clear of Maradona, but was forced off early in the second half after a Sergio Busquets tackle for which the Spaniard will be suspended for the second leg.

Barcelona did not waste much time in getting on level terms, as Messi and Busquets combined to send Semedo into the box in the 57th minute.

The Portuguese full-back crossed low for Griezmann to power home right-footed.

"At first we found it hard to find space, or create space or get shots on goal," said Griezmann.

"But the more we saw that they were tiring, the more we were able to push forward and make chances."

Ter Stegen denied Insigne with Jose Callejon also missing a chance for a second, as did Messi with eight minutes to go.

Vidal was sent off after a sliding tackle on Rui before appearing to headbutt the Napoli defender.

The Chilean will also miss the return leg in Spain, with defender Gerard Pique a doubt after going off late on with an ankle injury.

"We will not be able to count on Sergio Busquets or Vidal for the return, but we will find solutions to compensate," said Setien.

•Pieced together from AFP reports.

Update news