UEFA Champions league: Bayern routs Porto 6-1 while Barca beat PSG 2-0 to reach Semifinals
BAYERN VS PORTO
MUNICH -- Bayern Munich outclassed Porto 6-1 on Tuesday to reach its fourth consecutive Champions League semifinal and give coach Pep Guardiola an emphatic victory in his 100th match in charge of the German powerhouse.
Robert Lewandowski scored two goals as the five-time champions roared back from a 3-1 defeat in the first leg last week to advance 7-4 on aggregate.
Thiago Alcantara, Jerome Boateng, Thomas Mueller and Xabi Alonso were also on the score sheet for the home side. Jackson Martinez scored for Porto, which finished the match with 10 men after Ivano Marcano was sent off in the 87th.
Despite missing some of its biggest stars such as Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery, Bayern applied pressure from the opening whistle and had wiped out Porto's first-leg advantage by the 27th minute.
Guardiola's team toyed with the dispirited visitors, who began the match by defending with all men in their own half and failed to take a shot at Manuel Neuer's goal in the opening 45 minutes.
Bayern has now won all five home matches in this season's competition, scoring 19 goals and conceding one.
Porto, which upset Bayern to win the 1987 European Cup title, went into the match undefeated in the competition this season but came away with humiliating loss.
Bayern threatened early, with Mueller's shot after a break was parried by Fabiano. Lewandowski pounced but struck the post in the 10th.
Four minutes later, Bayern took the lead. Juan Bernat beat Ricardo Quaresma on the left wing, got behind Porto's defense and crossed for Thiago to connect with an unchallenged header.
Porto's defense was caught short again after a corner in the 22nd minute. Holger Badstuber headed toward the far post and Boateng nodded home as the two big Bayern defenders easily rose above their rivals.
Five minutes later, Bayern took the lead on the aggregate. Philipp Lahm crossed from the right, Mueller put Lewandowski through and the striker headed on target.
Sorely missing suspended fullbacks Danilo and Alex Sandro, two-time winner Porto offered little resistance and Bayern went up 4-0 in the 36th after Mueller picked up a ball outside the penalty area and fired a low shot that deflected of Bruno Martins and caught Fabiano on the wrong foot.
However, the first-half demolition of Porto wasn't over yet. Mueller tormented the visitors' defense and won a difficult ball on the right before swinging in a cross for Lewandowski, who took a couple of steps before drilling the ball low into the corner in the 40th minute for 5-0.
Although his team was easily controlling the match, Guardiola was his usual agitated self in the coaching zone and had opened a large rip in the seam of the left leg of his trousers in his 100th match in charge for Bayern. He has 79 wins, 10 draw and 11 defeats.
Those worries appeared understandable when Porto pulled one back in the 73rd, with Martinez heading home from close range from a cross by substitute Evandro - Porto's first shot on target.
Shortly afterward, Martinez broke free to shoot low and narrowly miss the net.
In the 88th, Alonso drove in a free kick after Porto had defender Marcano sent off with a second booking for a foul on Thiago.
Bayern can now hope to reach the June 6 final in Berlin, after losing the 2012 final at home to Chelsea.
BARCA VS PSG
MUNICH -- Bayern Munich outclassed Porto 6-1 on Tuesday to reach its fourth consecutive Champions League semifinal and give coach Pep Guardiola an emphatic victory in his 100th match in charge of the German powerhouse.
Robert Lewandowski scored two goals as the five-time champions roared back from a 3-1 defeat in the first leg last week to advance 7-4 on aggregate.
Thiago Alcantara, Jerome Boateng, Thomas Mueller and Xabi Alonso were also on the score sheet for the home side. Jackson Martinez scored for Porto, which finished the match with 10 men after Ivano Marcano was sent off in the 87th.
Despite missing some of its biggest stars such as Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery, Bayern applied pressure from the opening whistle and had wiped out Porto's first-leg advantage by the 27th minute.
Guardiola's team toyed with the dispirited visitors, who began the match by defending with all men in their own half and failed to take a shot at Manuel Neuer's goal in the opening 45 minutes.
Bayern has now won all five home matches in this season's competition, scoring 19 goals and conceding one.
Porto, which upset Bayern to win the 1987 European Cup title, went into the match undefeated in the competition this season but came away with humiliating loss.
Bayern threatened early, with Mueller's shot after a break was parried by Fabiano. Lewandowski pounced but struck the post in the 10th.
Four minutes later, Bayern took the lead. Juan Bernat beat Ricardo Quaresma on the left wing, got behind Porto's defense and crossed for Thiago to connect with an unchallenged header.
Porto's defense was caught short again after a corner in the 22nd minute. Holger Badstuber headed toward the far post and Boateng nodded home as the two big Bayern defenders easily rose above their rivals.
Five minutes later, Bayern took the lead on the aggregate. Philipp Lahm crossed from the right, Mueller put Lewandowski through and the striker headed on target.
Sorely missing suspended fullbacks Danilo and Alex Sandro, two-time winner Porto offered little resistance and Bayern went up 4-0 in the 36th after Mueller picked up a ball outside the penalty area and fired a low shot that deflected of Bruno Martins and caught Fabiano on the wrong foot.
However, the first-half demolition of Porto wasn't over yet. Mueller tormented the visitors' defense and won a difficult ball on the right before swinging in a cross for Lewandowski, who took a couple of steps before drilling the ball low into the corner in the 40th minute for 5-0.
Although his team was easily controlling the match, Guardiola was his usual agitated self in the coaching zone and had opened a large rip in the seam of the left leg of his trousers in his 100th match in charge for Bayern. He has 79 wins, 10 draw and 11 defeats.
Those worries appeared understandable when Porto pulled one back in the 73rd, with Martinez heading home from close range from a cross by substitute Evandro - Porto's first shot on target.
Shortly afterward, Martinez broke free to shoot low and narrowly miss the net.
In the 88th, Alonso drove in a free kick after Porto had defender Marcano sent off with a second booking for a foul on Thiago.
Bayern can now hope to reach the June 6 final in Berlin, after losing the 2012 final at home to Chelsea.
BARCA VS PSG
BARCELONA, Spain -- Neymar scored two goals as Barcelona beat Paris Saint-Germain 2-0 on Tuesday to seal its return to the Champions League semifinals, joining Europe's elite four teams for the seventh time in eight seasons.
Neymar had already netted Barcelona's first goal in its 3-1 first-leg win, and the Brazil striker struck in the 14th and 34th minutes to crush PSG's already slim hopes of a quarterfinal comeback.
Barcelona's dominance was so complete that, despite Neymar's brace, Andres Iniesta was arguably the best player on the Camp Nou pitch. The veteran midfielder used a breathtaking solo run through the heart of the visitors' defense to set up Neymar for the opener.
The Brazilian then took advantage of PSG's lax marking to head home his second goal from Dani Alves' cross.
Neymar's double gave him 30 goals for the season as the 23-year-old star continues to flourish. He forms a deadly three-prong attack with Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez, who have taken Barcelona one step closer to adding to its four European Cups and have kept the club in contention for the Spanish league and Copa del Rey titles.
Despite needing to score three goals, PSG seemed more worried about keeping a clean sheet and sat back instead of pressing Barcelona in its own half, a strategy that almost paid dividends for Valencia over the weekend.
If defending first was coach Laurent Blanc's strategy, it quickly fell apart when Iniesta single-handedly undid the French champions with an elegant dribbling run that started in his own half.
Iniesta has had a subdued season in his new role as the team's orchestrator - with Xavi Hernandez now only a substitute. But he proved that he is still one of the most creative playmakers in the game when he neatly spun by one defender and coasted through the tackles of two more. He then capped his run by threading a perfect pass beyond two more backtracking PSG players for Neymar to round goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu before tapping in Barcelona's first goal.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic made little impact on his return from suspension for PSG because he rarely got the ball. The Swedish striker was often a spectator while attack partners Edinson Cavani and Javier Pastore chased after a ball that was moved with bewitching ease by Iniesta, Messi, and Ivan Rakitic.
Despite all its artistry, Barcelona's second goal came easily enough when Dani Alves picked out Neymar darting between David Luiz and Marquinhos to score with a header.
Marco Verratti squandered PSG's first decent chance that came an hour into the match when he sent his shot well wide, and it wasn't until the 73rd when Ibrahimovic forced goalie Marc-Andre Ter Stegen to make a save.
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