Pep backing Barcelona to win in Berlin

Bayern boss offers nothing but praise after bowing out to Spanish giant

Bayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola is now backing his ex-club Barcelona to win the Champions League after his Bavarian giant bowed out 5-3 on aggregate in the semifinals.

Guardiola's squad exited at the last-four stage for the second year running, despite ending Barcelona's 18-game unbeaten run with a 3-2 semifinal, second-leg win in Munich.

Bayern was given an early glimmer of hope in its bid to overturn a three-goal deficit in Munich when the unmarked Medhi Benatia headed home in the seventh minute at Allianz Arena.

But Barca effectively booked its place in the Berlin final on June 6 when Luis Suarez twice set up Neymar to score for the visiting side before 30 minutes had elapsed.

Bayern produced a rousing second-half performance with goals by Robert Lewandowski and Thomas Mueller, but Barcelona advanced to face either bitter rival Real Madrid or Juventus in the final.

Having won 16 titles as a player, then 14 more in four years as head coach at Camp Nou, Guardiola is backing Barcelona to claim its first European crown since 2011 at Berlin's Olympic Stadium on June 6.

"I want to congratulate my players, I am really happy to be their manager on a day like today," said Guardiola, as Bayern denied Barcelona a first win in Munich on its fifth attempt.

"But I hope Barcelona can now win their fifth Champions League title in Berlin.

"You can only beat Barcelona when you take the ball away from them; with it they are so strong.

"We didn't make the most of our chances in the first leg but here we did.

"It wasn't enough at the end of the day, but there you go.

"I hope the Spanish league has the rights to be screened in Germany soon, so that fans here can appreciate what a good player Lionel Messi is on a regular basis.

"He was a pleasure to coach when I was at Barcelona and he has demonstrated yet again what he can do."

The win over Barcelona ended Bayern's four-match losing streak since winning the German league title for the 25th time two weeks ago.

"We won four titles last season, this year we have just one, but it has been a tough season with lots of injuries but despite that my players still attacked at every opportunity," said Guardiola.

Bayern's comeback win demonstrated how much it wanted to reach an 11th European Cup final but it was too little, too late after such an emphatic first-leg defeat.

"We believed in the miracle but we couldn't make it happen," said Bayern captain Philipp Lahm.

"It's impossible to stop those Barcelona players for the whole 90 minutes.

"We didn't lose it today, but in the first leg."

Mueller was a constant threat to the Barcelona defense and made good on his pre-match promise that Bayern would fight until the final whistle.

"We played a really great game in the first half but we've made two mistakes in defense and have been too wasteful with our chances," said Mueller.

"That's very annoying."

Enrique's delight

Barcelona remains on course to win the treble after reaching the Champions League final, to the delight of coach Luis Enrique. Barca is on the verge of the Spanish league title and faces Atletico Bilbao in the Spanish Cup final on May 30.

"I'm happy with the performance of the players. They should be congratulated," said Enrique.

"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. With such a good result from the first leg, we knew they had to give more.

"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."

Barcelona captain Andres Iniesta said Neymar's early goals calmed any early nerves, but it was disappointing not to beat Bayern for the first time in Munich.

"We knew they would push from the off and we got the two goals that calmed us down," said Iniesta.

"In the second half they pushed forward but we need to celebrate being in another final. We need to finish what we have started.

"I think we are where we want to be every year, we are one step away from everything and we need to take that final step.

"We can't stop or settle for less. It would be incredible for all the fans and the players.

"Every year is different, this year we have to enjoy it, we have overcome very strong opponents.

"We are very close and we need to take the next step to complete our mission."

Bayern Munich defender Jerome Boateng (right) and Barcelona forward Lionel Messi vie for the ball during Tuesday's Champions League semifinal, second-leg match in Munich. STR / AFP