On Tuesday, German heavyweights Bayern Munich will host Spanish giants Barcelona in the second leg of their mouth-watering Champions League semi-final match-up.
The Bavarians, however, are on the brink of elimination, having lost the first leg at Camp Nou 3-0 thanks to Argentine superstar Lionel Messi’s brilliance, and Jerome Boateng's collapse.
Messi vs Bayern stats
Crashing out of the tournament at this stage, having reached this far, would come as a huge disappointment and failure for boss Pep Guardiola, who is seeking his first trophy since lifting the title back in 2011 with the Blaugrana.
Regardless, the outcome appears to be inevitably headed in that direction. Given the shear striking force of Barcelona’s MSN (Messi, Neymar, and Suarez) trio, a single goal by the Catalan giants will surely complicate any hopes of a comeback.
MSN this season
Messi, Suarez and Neymar have together scored 112 goals for Barcelona this season: - 78 in La Liga - 11 in Copa - 23 in UCL
— MESSISTATS (@MessiStats) May 11, 2015
Furthermore, despite guiding die Roten to the treble in his debut season, and winning back-to-back Bundesliga titles, Guardiola’s record in semi-finals since his Allianz Arena arrival is atrocious. In three previous attempts in the last 4 of European football’s most prestigious competition, the Spaniard lost all three, conceding eight whilst failing to score a single goal.
The 'great' Pep Guardiola has played 3 Champions League semi final legs as Bayern boss, he's lost all 3, conceding 8 scoring 0
— Simon Dawkins (@simondawkins23) May 11, 2015
At this very stage of the Champions League, last season, Bayern locked horns with Real Madrid and were ripped apart 5-0 on aggregate, going down 4-0 at the Allianz Arena in the return fixture.
3 - Pep Guardiola has only won three of his 15 CL away knockout games as a manager (D7 L5). Achilles.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) May 6, 2015
In Guardiola's debut season with the Bavarians, Bayern lost 5-0 on aggregate to Real Madrid in the semis
But Guardiola’s shortcomings are not only limited to European competition. A week prior to the Bundesliga champions' trip to Catalonia, they were defeated by rivals Borussia Dortmund in the DFB-Pokal semi-finals, the beginning of their current four-game losing streak.
However, Pep must have learnt from the mistakes that led to their defeat to Los Blancos. The 44-year-old admitted that despite trailing 3-0, Bayern must take a cautious approach towards Tuesday’s game against Barcelona, or risk throwing away their 100% home record.
Guardiola "If we only focus on scoring on Tuesday, we will lose in the same way we did in last year's semi-final decider to Madrid."
— Home of Fußball (@ExcitableExpert) May 9, 2015
Given their form at home, it would be foolish to count out Guardiola’s team, but the hole they dug themselves may prove to deep, so expect Pep’s search for a first Champions League semi-final win to continue.
But then again, would a semi-final elimination be that bad for Bayern Munich and Guardiola?
Bad season for Guardiola?LeagueChamp. Semifinal CL - semifinal in the cup. Lot of managers in England wanting a bad season like that
— Jan Aage Fjortoft (@JanAageFjortoft) May 11, 2015
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