Luis Enrique expecting Champions League Bayern backlash
Tuesday 12 May 2015 09:43, UK
Luis Enrique expects a backlash from Bayern Munich in the second leg of Barcelona's Champions League semi-final on Tuesday night in Germany, despite defending a 3-0 lead from last week's first leg.
Barca are on the brink of their eighth European Cup final after routing the German champions in the first leg at Camp Nou in the final 15 minutes when Lionel Messi dazzled with two goals before setting Neymar up for their third.
But the Barcelona coach expects Bayern to throw everything at his side despite Pep Guardiola's men being on a four-match losing streak.
"We know how big Bayern Munich are and we will have to be at our best to progress," said Enrique, 45, whose side have not conceded a goal in their last seven games.
"It won't be an easy game and we will have to suffer. If we take the lead it would be good for us, but Bayern has the quality to score and they caused us problems in Barcelona.
"They will be at home and will have the crowd behind them, but we are on a good run and hope to take our chances. We don't want the game to turn into a crazy one and we have to use our weapons to hurt our rivals."
We will attack because we do not know how to play any other way - it's the club philosophy
Ahead of the game, Guardiola described his former club Barcelona as the "best counter-attacking side in the world", but Enrique predicts a battle for possession at the Allianz Arena.
"If Pep said that, we accept his praise, but just like Bayern, we want to maintain possession and we want to create openings," said the Barcelona coach.
"We want the game to be as similar as possible to the first leg, when everyone attacks and everyone defends, but we will have to go out focused on winning."
Barcelona's Argentinian midfielder Javier Mascherano said the visitors will not hold back as they chase a first away win against Bayern.
"We will attack because we do not know how to play any other way - it's the club philosophy," said the 30-year-old Argentina international.
"To reach the final in Berlin, we will have to play the perfect game, because Bayern will demand it of us.
"We are very competitive, we want to win titles - we are 90 minutes away from the final, which was one of our goals before the season started.
"We will do everything to fulfil our dream. If you get to this stage, every mistake can be punished - we have to take it step by step.
"I expect a hungry Bayern team, right from the start. They will try to score, we know how they play at home, but we are prepared for everything and nothing will surprise us."
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