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Can Bayern pull off a miracle? Will Guardiola win a Champions League with Bayern Munich? Who can stop Lionel Messi? Email your thoughts to rob.bagchi@telegraph.co.uk
67 min
That was Lahm's last act - off he goes, handing the armband to Schweinsteiger while Rode runs on to replace him.
64 min
Mistake from Mascherano 30 yards from his own goal allows Muller through the centre and he passes to Lewandowski on the left. He spies Lahm's surge infield and delivers the ball to him but then the captain runs right up the 18-yard line looking to work an angle for the shot and can't.
62 min
Free kick from the left for Bayern is clipped into the middle where Benatia wins the header in the crowd, and turns it back to Muller who turns through 135 degrees to curl a shot wide.
GOAL!! Bayern 2-2 Barcelona (Lewandowski) He's a class act. His excellent close control kills a ball played up to him through the D, he drops it on to his right foot to move Mascherano out of the way and drills a shot inside ter Stegen's left post.
57 min
Now Muller has a speculative ding from oustide the box and gets nowhere.
56 min
Bernat makes ground up the left, doesn't really bother trying to find Lewandowski and rattles the advertising boards with a shot.
Shane O'Leary suggests
I think your correspondent, James Bolland has given us the 'stop Messi' solution... Draft in some players from Kilmarnock. Hope this helps.
I'll message Ancelotti and Allegri, Shane. That'll be a scouting gig for ye and me next season, I reckon.
53 min
The Bayern fans are doing their best to sustain the belief but there's nothing doing here for them. They can and should point to the absence of Ribery and Robben without whom they look alarmingly one-paced despite Muller's excellent runs.
51 min
Simon McMahon writes
Pep can dream though, can't he?
We're lost in a cloud
With too much rain
We're trapped in a world
That's troubled with pain
But as long as a man
Has the strength to dream
He can redeem his soul and fly
Gospel Elvis was the best, eh?
He certainly was, Simon. A vision in that white suit, too.
49 min
Snap shot from Schweinsteiger in the box that he snatches at and hooks.
48 min
Quite a slow start. Barcelona shift it about, happy to hold what they have but then Pique misplaces a pass.
46 min
We're off again with Pedro on for Suarez.
Half time
John McEnerney says
Pep found out again 2nd year in a row big time!
Yes, John. Dreadful defensive tactics.
Ron DiVincenzo writes
It’s clear that the only player that can stop Messi is himself. When he is not at his best!! I have never seem a more complete and gifted player.
There are mountains to climb ... and then there's this.
45+2 min
Mascherano takes the ball in his own half and drives forward until he's felled by Thiago running across him. Out comes a yellow card but for Thiago's protest rather than the trip. That's half-time.
45 min
Bayern free-kick taken by Xabi Alonso. Thirty-five yards out but fairly straight which makes a shot or cross difficult to pull off. He floats it towards the spot where Benatia balloons a header wide of the post.
43 min
Neymar and Suarez link up on the left again, the former doing his high stepover thing and scuttling it inside to Suarez who plays it back but there's too much embellishment in too little space and though Bayern, given they need five goals, are loose to the point of reckless at the back, they're not mugs.
40 min
Marvellous save from ter Stegen, one-handed from a range of about five yards. Lewandowski smacked it to the keeper's left and he stuck out his hand to block it while he was moving the other way. The ball spun behind him but he managed to scramble across to scoop it out of the goal with the ball only partially over the line.
38 min
Terrific cross from Bernat to the near post is met by Schweinsteiger on the dive and he sends his header towards the centre of goal where ter Stegen prevents it from scudding under the crossbar with a fingertip.
36 min
The crowd is in full voice and rattling the boards but there's nothing Bayern can do at the moment to stem the tide of Barcelona's counter attacks.
33 min
Sensational skill from Suarez who took the pass on his heel and flicked it over Benatia's head right back into his own stride as the defender was left patting his pockets vainly looking for his wallet.
GOAL!! Bayern 1-2 Barcelona (Neymar) This is suicidal from Bayern Munich. Benatia goes up for a header on halfway from a ter Stegen clearance, gets under it and Messi ends up glancing it off to Suarez who powers towards the box, veering slightly to the right, skins Bernat then crosses for Neymar in the box on the left. He traps it with his chest and slots a shot powerfully inside Neuer's near post.
Sensational counter from Barcelona, direct and devastating. Messi headed flick, Suarez across, Neymar clinical finish. Ruthless. #fcb 2-1 up
— Henry Winter (@henrywinter) May 12, 2015 28 min
Neymar in slaying Rafinha on the left, dancing inside and laying the ball into the box for Messi who is surrounded, traps it then high kicks a volley at Neuer.
26 min
Muller drives towards the box from the right with a powerful dribble then squeaks a pass through to Lewandowski to stretch and toe poke a shot straight at the keeper. That was a chance.
24 min
Up go Pique's hands in a 'who me?' style when he boots the ball away after the whistle which eh claims not to have heard. Bayern need four more goals but they're all over the place at the back.
James Bolland writes
Top 10 European comebacks. You omitted one of the best. Fairs Cup 1964. 1st Leg: Eintracht Frankfurt 3, Kilmarnock 0. 2nd Leg (I was there) Kilmarnock 5, Eintracht Frankfurt 1 (and they scored the first goal to go 4-0 up!)
Sorry James. Once read a Hugh McIlvanney piece about that game. Should have remembered.
21 min
Suarez is fouled by Benatia. I wrote last week that Real Madrid were daft to sell Xabi Alonso. I'm not so sure now. Playing that role where he drops into the back four is one thing but when he has to step out and try to stop Messi playing it down the inside-forward channels, he's chasing shadows and seems to be walking through treacle.
19 min
Excellent save from ter Stegen, knockling it away from the top right corner from Muller's placed header. They waste the corner but such has been the tentativenes of the defending that there will be further opportunities.
GOAL!! Bayern 1-1 Barcelona (Neymar) Maradona, Giordano and Careca Suarez, Messi and Neymar weave their magica, Messi drawing Xabi Alonso out of position then threading a pass to the right of the box for Suarez's run behind Benatia. Out comes Neuer to try to close the angle and Suarez squares it to Neymar on the penalty spot to roll it into an empty net.
12 min
Bayern have gone for the three at the back which is allowing them to flood midfield but leaves them exposed at the back. But my, they break quickly and now Alba stands on the edge of his box and is shrugged off by Muller. He takes it to the left then threads a pass through to Lewandowski who stops to try to sell a dummy to Mascherano who refuses to buy it and his stance wins the ball back.
9 min
Guardiola stood on the touchline whipping his hands in a circular motion after the goal then punched the air with a vicious uppercut. Dani Alves goes into a challenge tow to toe, raised off the ground at knee height, with Schweinsteiger who fouls him.
Allianz absolutely shaking now. Alonso corner, terrible #fcb marking, header from big Benatia. #fcbayern on a mission. 1-0. 1-3 agg.
— Henry Winter (@henrywinter) May 12, 2015 GOAL!! Bayern 1-0 Barcelona (Benatia) Headed in from a corner after a couple of quick breaks. The centre-back had a free jump at it from 12 yards, twisted his neck and powered his header in.
4 min
Rakitic loses Xabi Alonso when Dani Alves chips a long pass from halfway up the middle. His momentum takes him to the right of the box and he shoots low, Neuer saves and the ball goes out to the left where Neymar picks it up and booms a cross beyond the far post and out of harm's way.
2 min
Nothing comes of it as they are squeezed out of space on the right after switching it. Bayern have a throw, tack right and Lahm goes sprinting up the right to try a cross from a tight angle but he, too, runs out of space as Alba stalks his run.
1 min
Bayern begin with half a minute's possession at the back before Boateng chips a pass forward that Mascherano cuts out and send up the left where they win a free-kick.
Prajwol Ranjit opines
Can Bayern pull off a miracle? They already did. A 3-0 loss at Nou Camp instead of what should have been at least 6-1 thrashing was a miracle in itself. And Guardiola cannot win the Champions League with Bayern with Madrid and Barca around. The tiki-taka or whatever passing system they call it doesn’t work without Messi in big games.
19.42
Out come the sides, Barcelona in their 'disco primrose', Bayern in red and blue.
#fcbayern fans ... pic.twitter.com/XQpez22nDj
— Henry Winter (@henrywinter) May 12, 2015 19.37
Apparently Barcelona's front-three is the best ever in club football history. That's Lee Dixon's view anyway. Other contenders? Hmm, an out and out front three.
John McEnerney sends us his reading of Bayern's prospects
It's a big ask even for Bayern but nobody thought Germany would score seven against Brazil. Luckily for both sides David Luiz hasn't been advising the back fours. I just can't see Bayern putting four past Barca without reply. No Champions League medal for Pep this year. Javier Mascherano will be key tonight, Pique too who has been immaculate recently. Lahm should man mark Messi - he is one of the best defenders around. If Bayern score early it will make it interesting but it's like a dead rubber at 0-3. Enjoy it. e early it will make it interesting but it's like a dead rubber at 0-3. Enjoy it.
19.21
Like he just stepped out of the salon. What is going on with Mark Clattenburg's hair jollop? He looks like Maroaune Chamakh.
19.15
There's always one, isn't there?
19.12
Meanwhile on Emmerdale Farm. One of Matt's ewes has taken badly. Dolly is fretting ...
19.00
Good evening again. Bayern are 3-0 down from the first leg and have recovered from an away first-leg defeat to win 10 times, as they did against Porto in the last round. That was the first time they had overcome a two-goal deficit. Now their task is, at the very least, to grab three goals and keep a clean sheet. To me they look short of being capable of that despite how well Lewandowski and Muller played in the first leg. But you never know ... (you usually do).
Any road, here are the teams in the traditional style:
Bayern Munich Neuer; Rafinha, Benatia, Boateng, Bernat; Lahm, Alonso, Thiago; Muller, Lewandowski, Schweinsteiger.
Subs Reina, Dante, Javi Martinez, Pizarro, Gotze, Rode, Weiser.
Barcelona Ter Stegen; Dani Alves, Pique, Mascherano, Jordi Alba; Rakitic, Busquets, Iniesta; Messi, Suarez, Neymar.Subs Bravo, Xavi, Pedro, Rafinha, Bartra, Adriano, Mathieu.
Referee Mark Clattenburg (England)
Do they look like they feel like underdogs (as they claimed earlier this week)?
Barça team news
Starting XI: 13 Ter Stegen 22 Alves 3 Piqué 14 Mascherano 18 J.Alba 5 Busquets 8 Iniesta 4 Rakitic 9 Suárez 10 Messi 11 Neymar Jr #FCBlive
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) May 12, 2015 Barça's substitutes: 13 Bravo 15 Bartra 21 Adriano 24 Mathieu 6 Xavi 12 Rafinha 7 Pedro #FCBLive #FCBFCB
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) May 12, 2015 Masip, Montoya, Douglas, Sergi Roberto, Vermaelen, Samper, Sandro and Munir will watch the game from the stands #FCBlive #FCBFCB
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) May 12, 2015 Unchanged all round, then. All we have to work out is whether Guardiola is playing 4-3-3 or 3-4-3.
Bayern team news
FCB Aufstellung: Neuer - Alonso, Benatia, Thiago, Lewandowski, Rafinha, Boateng, Bernat, Lahm, Müller, Schweinsteiger | ^M.Hörwick
— FC Bayern München (@FCBayern) May 12, 2015 Einwechselspieler: Reina - Dante, Martinez, Pizarro, Gaudino, Götze, Rode, Weiser. Anstoß: 20.45 Uhr. TV: ZDF und sky live
— FC Bayern München (@FCBayern) May 12, 2015 Unchanged, then.
The players have arrived at the Bayern Arena #FCBFCB #UCL https://t.co/54EzzZb5te
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) May 12, 2015 18.15
Good evening. I wrote this for the print copy of the Telegraph a couple of months ago. It hasn't appeared online yet but I think it's pretty apt. See what you think, let me know if I've left any out and whether it will give you Pepophiles and FC Hollywood fans belief:
Top 10 European second-leg comebacks
Deportivo La Coruna 4-0 AC Milan 2004
Hubris strikes Milan a year before Istanbul when the holders went to Galicia to defend a 4-1 first-leg quarter-final lead and found themselves steamrollered by Deportivo La Coruna. The last vintage performance of a thrilling La Coruna side whose verve had lit up Europe for five years, they tore into Cafu, Andrea Pirlo, Paolo Maldini, Andriy Shevchenko et al at such a ferocious tempo in front of a crowd that was pitched close to hysteria that the champions simply fell apart. “They were laughing at us that night,” said Pirlo.
Barcelona 1-4 Metz 1984
Such was the hopelessness of Metz’s prospects after a 4-2 home defeat in the Cup Winners’ Cup first-round tie, no television or radio broadcaster bothered to cover the return leg at a barely quarter-full Nou Camp. After being mocked by Barca’s Bernd Schuster, the Metz players were galvanised into the performance of their lives after falling further behind. They didn’t start scoring until the 38th minute but then didn’t stop, Tony Kurbos racing to a hat-trick and forcing an own goal through a deflection. Little wonder they ran up to goad Schuster at the end.
Arsenal 3-0 Anderlecht 1970
After seventeen years without a trophy Arsenal finally broke their drought in the Fairs Cup in the most unpromising of circumstances having gone down 3-1 in the first leg of the final. In front of 52,000 at Highbury, they pulverised Anderlecht, scoring with a first-half screamer from Eddie Kelly and a scorching header from John Radford in the 75th minute and Jon Sammels’s cracking shot 90 seconds later. At last a side rich in potential had managed to get over the line. The next year they won the Double.
Real Madrid 4-0 Borussia Monchengladbach 1985
Go to the museum at the Bernabeu and, given the 10 European Cups, you would be surprised to see a third-round Uefa Cup tie from 1985 accorded such prominence but it remains the most remarkable example of the club’s indomitable spirit. Real were holders when they were whacked 5-1 in the first leg in Germany but turned the tide at home, Jorge Valdano scoring twice in the first 17 minutes and the veteran Santillana two more in the last 14 minutes to go through on away goals in a comeback the most successful club in history regards as its finest.
Bayer Uerdingen 7-3 Dynamo Dresden 1986
Two-nil up from the first leg and with a 3-1 lead at half time in the second of the 1986 Cup Winners’ Cup quarter-final, the Dynamo Dresden players could have been forgiven for playing the final 45 minutes with cigars in their mouths. Perhaps they did – with nothing to lose Bayer Uerdingen went berserk, scoring six second-half goals to go from 5-1 down on aggregate to a 7-5 victory with two apiece for Wolfgang Schafer and Wolfgang Funkel.
Chelsea 4-1 Napoli 2012
The 3-1 Champions League quarter-final first leg defeat in Naples cost Andre Villas Boas his job as Chelsea manager and despite clawing two goals back in the first 50 minutes, Gokhan Inler’s crisp half-volley for Napoli with 35 minutes to go left the hosts needing two more and very vulnerable on the break. But Napoli cracked, conceding a penalty that Frank Lamprad converted to take the tie into extra-time where Branislav Ivanovic scored one of his specials to put Chelsea on course for their first European Cup and make Roberto Di Matteo the king of all caretakers.
Middlesbrough 4-2 Steaua Bucharest 2006
A 1-0 defeat in Romania did not seem insurmountable in the home Uefa Cup semi-final leg but when Boro went 2-0 down at the Riverside in 24 minutes, hope was as sparse as Steve McClaren’s hair. But they had needed to score four unanswered goals in an hour to win the quarter-final against Basel and proceeded to do so again, Massimo Maccarone capping an outstanding fight-back with a blistering diving header from Stewart Downing’s whipped cross a minute from time.
FK Partizan 4-0 Queens Park Rangers 1984
Proving to their detractors that could be a team for all surfaces with a 6-2 first leg win at Highbury because Uefa would not allow QPR to play their 1984-85 home Uefa Cup ties on the Loftus Road plastic, when they played the return the club was pining for their former manager Terry Venables and in revolt against his successor Alan Mullery. They feebly surrendered their four-goal lead in front of a raucous, hostile crowd that had pelted the Rangers’ bus with bottles and ball bearings. “We were battered in every way,” said Mullery, who was sacked after one more match.
Fulham 4-1 Juventus 2010
The last thing you want when trailing 3-1 from the away leg is to concede early but that is precisely what Fulham did at Craven Cottage, going 4-1 down on aggregate in their Europa League round of 16 tie when David Trezeguet opened the scoring for Juve after 90 seconds. But Fulham rallied quickly, Bobby Zamora scored the first, Zoltan Gera two more after Italy’s World Cup winning captain Fabio Cannavaro had been sent off and finished the job with Clint Dempsey’s sumptuous chip eight minutes from time.
Dinamo Tbilisi 3-0 Liverpool 1979
For the second year running Liverpool were knocked out of the European Cup in the first round. Though they won 2-1 at home, Tblisi’s pace, slick passing and intelligent running caused them all sorts of problems at Anfield and then devastated them in the away leg. Three years later Ramaz Shengelia, who scored Dinmo’s second, latched on to Alan Hansen’s collision with Willie Miller in the World Cup, to punish the centre-back again as USSR knocked Scotland out of the tournament.
Noch 3 Stunden bis die #UCL-Hymne ertönt? ? Die Meister Die Besten Les Grandes Équipes The Champions ? #FCBFCB pic.twitter.com/IJjoWoaSeX
— FC Bayern München (@FCBayern) May 12, 2015 The team are on their way to the Bayern Arena #FCBFCB #UCL https://t.co/pdxeQOOwvB
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) May 12, 2015 Outside Allianz Arena ... pic.twitter.com/sJp6uZ0K3z
— Henry Winter (@henrywinter) May 12, 2015 15.20
Afternoon all - welcome to our live coverage of Bayern Munich v Barcelona. It's a Champions League semi-final second leg and yet this feels more like an early round of the FA Cup, given the underdog status of poor Bayern: 3-0 down and up against the best player in the world at the peak of his powers, surely this will just be a procession for the Catalans... won't it? We'll have all the build-up and news from the Allianz Arena as kick-off draws closer, before Rob Bagchi takes over the live blogging duties. In the mean time, have a vote on our lovely poll...
... and chew over this, as Barca manager Luis Enrique does his best to make it out that Barca are underdogs:
Luis Enrique expects Barcelona to 'suffer' in the second leg of their Champions League semi-final against Bayern Munich on Tuesday, despite defending a 3-0 lead from last week's first leg.
Barca are on the brink of their eighth European Cup final after routing Bayern in the first leg at the Camp Nou last Wednesday when Lionel Messi dazzled with two goals before setting Neymar up for their third.
But the Barcelona coach thinks Bayern will throw the proverbial kitchen sink at his side despite Pep Guardiola's men being on a four-match losing streak.
"We know how big Bayern Munich are and we will have to be at our best to progress," said the 45-year-old Luis Enrique, whose side have not conceded a goal in their last seven games.
"It won't be an easy game and we will have to suffer.
"If we take the lead it would be good for us, but Bayern has the quality to score and they caused us problems in Barcelona.
"They will be at home and will have the crowd behind them, but we are on a good run and hope to take our chances.
"We don't want the game to turn into a crazy one and we have to use our weapons to hurt our rivals."
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