Luis Enrique’s men, who completed a 5-3 aggregate victory at the
Allianz Arena, were handed an early scare when Medhi Benatia headed
Bayern into a seventh-minute lead but two away goals from Neymar
completed a first-half turnaround that effectively killed off home
hopes.
Bayern Munich produced a comeback of
their own in the second half thanks to goals from Robert Lewandowski and
Thomas Muller, but it was not enough to stop the La Liga leaders from
booking their place in next month’s final at the Olympic Stadium in
Berlin.
Barcelona,
who kept their La Liga, Copa del Rey and Champions League treble dream
alive, will attempt to win their fifth European Cup and first since 2001
against either Real Madrid or Juventus, who play on Wednesday evening -
live on Sky Sports.
Bayern made the perfect
start as they looked to claw back the three-goal deficit as Benatia was
gifted a free header to score from Xabi Alonso’s corner.
But
their joy did not last long as Enrique's side responded in emphatic
fashion with Lionel Messi picking out Luis Suarez, who squared the ball
for Neymar to tap the ball into an empty net.
Bayern,
whose lead lasted just eight minutes, continued to probe in search of
the four unanswered goals they now needed but Muller and Lewandowski
both found Marc-Andre ter Stegen in excellent form.
Those
wasted chances were to prove costly as Suarez broke clear in the 29th
minute and kept his composure to pick out Neymar in space at the far
post. The Brazilian picked his spot to beat Manuel Neuer at his near
post and send Barcelona a further step closer to the final.
With
Bayern now needing a miracle, Enrique took the precaution to take off
Suarez at the break after he felt some discomfort in his left hamstring.
The former Liverpool striker was replaced by Pedro but it was Bayern
going in search of goals as Juan Bernat tried to dance his way through
the Barcelona defence before firing a long-range effort wide.
Pep
Guardiola’s side were back in it with half an hour remaining as
Lewandowski produced a moment of magic to beat Javier Mascherano just
inside the penalty area before curling a shot beyond the diving Ter
Stegen and into the far corner.
The goal
lifted Bayern and though Enrique responded to Barca jitters by bringing
on Jeremy Mathieu for Ivan Rakitic, the hosts grabbing a third with just
15 minutes to play when Muller stroked the ball home from the edge of
the area.
The German international
retrieved the ball from the net and proceded to whip the home crowd into
a frenzy but ultimately they were left with far too much to do.
Barcelona
threw on Xavi immediately after the goal for his 150th Champions League
appearance – the most for an outfield player in the competition – but
it did not stop Bayern threatening as Lewandowski went close with a
deflected shot.
The
visitors continued to soak up pressure and with time running out they
nearly wrapped things up with a goal of their own as Neymar wasted a
hat-trick opportunity trying to set up Messi up with just Neuer to beat.
But
it did not matter as Enrique’s men held on to their 5-3 aggregate
advantage to book their place in a first Champions League final since
beating Manchester United at Wembley in 2011 under Guardiola.
They
could now face El Clasico rivals Real Madrid in Berlin on June 6 but
Carlo Ancelotti’s men must first turn around a 2-1 deficit against Serie
A champions Juventus at the Bernabeu.
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» Barcelona in their first Champions League final since 2011 despite losing 3-2 to Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena on Tuesday night


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