Barca book spot in CL final despite second leg defeat by Bayern

Barcelona were beaten 3-2 on the night in their Champions League semi-final second leg, by a battling Bayern Munich, but still emerged 5-3 victors on aggregate, so the Catalan club can now pack their bags for Berlin, having snagged the first spot in the final.

As the first half got underway, with the Allianz Arena rocking, it looked as though the German giants could pull off another second leg surprise, having previously bounced back from disappointing results to smash earlier opponents Porto and Shakhtar Donetsk.

It took just eight minutes for centre back Mehdi Benatia to break Barca’s resistance. Having been left unmarked during a corner, the Morocco international headed past keeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen, giving Pep Guardiola’s guys real hope of turning the tie around.

Smelling blood, opportunistic Thomas Muller then pounced as Barcelona’s backline failed to clear their lines, but poacher Robert Lewandowski wasted the fruits of his clubmate’s persistent pressing by letting his chance trickle out.

Barca were let off the hook, and Bayern paid dearly for their lack of incisiveness, when Neymar found the net, and an all-important away goal, in the 14th minute. The visitors’ tenacious attacking trident took centre stage yet again, as an unusually quiet Lionel Messi pushed a superb pass through to onrushing Luis Suarez, who duly slid the ball across the box for Brazil superstar Neymar to nudge home.

It was a cruel blow to the Bavarians’ hopes, but Pep Guardiola’s guys refused to let their heads drop and seemed intent on at least racking up a respectable scoreline.

Germany stopper Ter Stegen pulled off yet more tremendous saves, showing of his goalkeeping credentials to international rival Manuel Neuer, as he denied Munich’s swift response. First a looping Muller header was tipped away, and the young custodian was also equal to Lewandowski’s later toe poke.

Another missed Muller chance, crafted by tricky ex-Barca boy Thiago Alcantara, then in-turn exposed Bayern’s lacklustre backline, who were left breathless by a brilliant Barca counter attacker.