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Xabi Alonso

MUNICH. — Pep Guardiola has promised embattled Bayern Munich will put up a fight in tonight’s Champions League soccer semi-final, second-leg, in their near-impossible bid to deny Barcelona an eighth final appearance.

The match kicks-off at 8:45pm.

Bayern are chasing a miracle at the Allianz Arena after their humbling 3-0 first-leg defeat at the Camp Nou last Wednesday when Lionel Messi capped a dazzling display with two goals.

No team has ever overturned a three-goal deficit in a European semi-final.

But Guardiola believes Bayern Munich’s star-studded squad has the quality to overturn a three-goal deficit to shock Barcelona in tonight’s Champions League semi-final, second-leg despite their four-match losing streak.

With his side staring down the barrel of a semi-final exit for the second year running, Guardiola knows Bayern can ill afford to throw caution to the wind against a Barcelona attack boasting Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez.

But he believes they can shock the Spanish league leaders.

“Push forward, push forward? No! We have to defend well and control the game,” said the 44-year-old, who has denied rumours linking him to Manchester City for next season.

“There is no problem with this team’s mentality.

“There are six or seven guys in the squad who have won the World Cup and they know what needs to be done.

“It’s not enough to have the most possession and defend well, you also have to create chances against Barcelona.

“If we make a mistake, they will punish it.

“We have to take the chances we create, it won’t be easy, but with the quality we have, we’ll see what happens.”

One factor in Bayern’s favour is that they emphatically turned their 3-1 quarter-final, first-leg defeat at Porto into a 6-1 rout in Munich with five goals in the opening 45 minutes.

But a fortnight on, Bayern are on a four-match losing streak, although Guardiola insists confidence is not a problem.

“The players have showed that they want this,” said the Spaniard.

“We turned around a 3-1 against Porto, but this is completely different.

“It’s a huge challenge, but we will try.”

Barcelona arrive with a significant advantage in their bid for a first victory in the Bavarian capital.

Strangely, Barca couch Luis Enrique has insisted “it doesn’t look good for us”, but Guardiola admits he would have said the same thing if the roles were reversed.

“As a coach, you don’t know what will happen, I would have said the same in his position,” said Guardiola.

“We are Bayern Munich. I have never thought before a game that we have no chance.”

“We all know it’s going to be a mammoth task, but we’re not going to give up,” said Bayern forward Thomas Mueller.

Bayern believe they can claim a historic win with Germany captain Bastian Schweinsteiger suggesting: “Sometimes unbelievable things happen in football and we hope we’re going to catch one of those days”.

But their confidence has been dented by losing their last four games since winning the German league for the 25th time a fortnight ago and the losing streak is their longest since 1991.

In Saturday’s latest defeat, Bayern crashed 1-0 at home to neighbours Augsburg and had to play 77 minutes with 10 men after reserve goalkeeper Pepe Reina was sent off.

Having also lost 2-0 at Leverkusen the previous week before their drubbing in Barcelona, it is the first time Bayern have failed to score in three consecutive games for 15 years.

But Bayern coach Guardiola, a former Barcelona boss, insists his side must keep their dreams alive.

“I am realistic, that is the only way you can win,” said the Spaniard, who has warned his side they risk being routed unless they contain Barcelona’s star-studded attack.

“The dream is still there and we have 90 minutes. It won’t be easy, but I am a fighter.”

In contrast, Barca are in fine form having scored 19 goals in their last four games.

They are poised to win the Spanish league title after beating David Moyes’s Real Sociedad 2-0 on Saturday which left them four points ahead of rivals Real Madrid.

Brazil star Neymar has now scored in each of his last six matches to take his tally for the season to 35, while Barca have now not conceded for seven straight games. But Barca coach Luis Enrique refuses to believe Bayern will bow out of Europe without a fight. — AFP.