Bayern Munich tried their level best to comeback from the 3 – 0 defeat at Camp Nou but at present Luis Enrique’s men are in a class of their own. The Bavarian giants won 3 – 2 at home on Tuesday but it was all in vain as Barcelona won 5 – 3 on aggregate to advance to the final in Berlin.
Robert Lewandowski and Thomas Muller gave commendable performances in the second leg of the semi-final, but Neymar struck twice to reach his first ever Champions League final. Mehdi Benatia opened the scoring for Bayern in the 7th minute, but Neymar equalized only eight minutes later. The Brazilian skipper gave his side the lead at the half-hour mark. Suarez and Messi were also involved in the goals netted by Neymar, who has now scored 37 goals in all competitions.
The German champions came back stronger in the second half and completely dominated over the Spanish league leaders. In the post-match interview the Bayern boss Guardiola praised his side and also labeled Lionel Messi as the best player of all time.
“He is the best player of all time, I compare him with Pele,” said the 44-year-old. “I hope Barca win their fifth Champions League final.”
He added: “He is back, he is there where I had the privilege to train him. He is definitely back at his best.”
The coach of the winning team, Luis Enrique was delighted with the performance of his team. In his debut at the helm of the Catalan giants, Enrique is already on course to win the treble. He expressed his happiness in the post-match conference.
“With such a good result from the first leg, we knew they had to give more,” the Barca boss said.
“The second-half was different, because they attacked us more, but we are now in the final and can win the title in each competition we are in. This is what it means to be part of Barca.”
The 45-year-old went on to make his intentions clear. Six years after winning their first treble, Barcelona are aiming to become the first team ever to win a second one. Luis Enrique said: “It’s a great achievement to reach the final. We’re one win away from winning each of the three competitions. This is our mission. This is what it means to be part of Barca.
“I am very satisfied with the performance of my players, the whole team deserved the victory and we have to enjoy this.”
Barcelona will face the Italian champions Juventus in Berlin. Luis Suarez will face his old nemesis Patrice Evra. They have a long standing history of controversies from their days in the Premier League. The Uruguayan forward will also come face to face with Giorgio Chiellini, who was involved in the sending off of Suarez in the World Cup. The Barca ace bit Chiellini on the shoulder in a moment of madness which led to him to a ban from football for four months. It will be a big mental test for the former Liverpool striker. It will be interesting to see how he’ll cope up with the challenges and compete in his first ever Champions League final.