BY Victor Akhidenor
Lionel Messi scored a late brace and Neymar struck in added time to leave Bayern Munich with an uphill task to make the UEFA Champions League final in Berlin after a 3-0 away defeat to Barcelona at the Camp Nou.
And Pep Guardiola’s return to Spain did not go according to plan after a late collapse in the closing stages of their first leg semi-final clash.
It was a night of top-quality encounter in front of 98,000 plus fans in the first half with action at both ends. The Catalans created the better chances, though, with Manuel Neuer making two decisive saves.
Bayern looked impregnable for a long spell after the break but a moment of defensive carelessness – like in the first leg quarter-final game against Porto – let in Messi to open the scoring on 77 minutes.
The Argentine doubled his tally with a deft finish three minutes later and Neymar scored in the last minute of stoppage time to hand the Catalans the advantage going into the return leg next Tuesday.
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