21:45: As always, thank you for following VAVEL UK's live coverage of tonight's game. Be sure to come back in the future for more live coverage of European football! From everyone here at VAVEL UK, we hope to see you soon and goodnight!
21:40: What a footballing display by Barcelona. They were sensational. Pep Guardiola couldn't get the better of his former side, as a player he knows extremely well - Lionel Messi - swept his side away with a terrific brace. Bayern have a tremendous task ahead of them in the second leg, especially if Luis Enrique's side can repeat that performance at the Allianz Arena.
Full-time: FC Barcelona 3-0 FC Bayern Munich
90'+4' Suarez is fouled, but Messi is there to pick up the pieces and play Neymar through on goal with just Neuer to beat, which the Brazilian does ever so brilliantly sliding it past the German goalkeeper. Bayern have a hell of a mountain to climb in the second leg.
GOAL!!! BRILLIANT BARCELONA SEND THEIR BOISTEROUS FANS WILD!!! NEYMAR MAKES IT 3-0!!!
90' Four minutes of added time are shown.
89' Final Barcelona substitution: Marc Bartra is brought on in place of Javier Mascherano.
87' Barcelona substitution: Rafinha replaces Iniesta.
83' Neymar feeds Suarez through on goal, although his pass is a little overhit, forcing Suarez to blast the ball over the bar from just outside of the Bayern penalty area.
82' Barcelona substitution: Xavi comes on for Ivan Rakitic.
81' Messi has turned this game on its head! Barcelona really should have put this game to bed in the first half, however their little magician has done the damage to Bayern. He drives at Boateng and puts him on his back with a fake shot. Then, as you think it can't get any better, he dinks the ball over Neuer with his weak foot into the far corner. Absolutely mesmerizing.
79' Bayern substitution: Mario Götze replaces Thomas Müller.
WHAT AN AMAZING GOAL!!! LIONEL MESSI DOES IT AGAIN!!! 2-0 TO BARCELONA!!!
78' A lack of concentration from Bayern as they just finished protesting a Neymar penalty appeal, which the referee ruled as simulation but didn't book the Brazilian. The following goal-kick was rushed and Boateng was caught out on the ball and Messi cut inside and blasted it into the near post past Neuer, to the German goalkeeper's frustration.
GOAL!!! IT'S LIONEL MESSI AND IT'S 1-0 TO BARCELONA!!!
71' Thiago's deflected strike is saved well by ter Stegen. The German goalkeeper hasn't been forced into saving much tonight.
69' Neymar takes out Müller in frustration, following not getting given a free-kick for a challenge on him previously. As he is booked he squares up to the referee - tensions are rising here.
67' Gerard Pique is booked for bringing down Lewandowski with a dangerous slide tackle on the edge of the area. Busquets concedes a corner from the following free-kick
64' Rakitic feeds Neymar on the left, who cuts inside on his right foot and blazes it over the bar. The Barcelona fans in attendance hold their heads in their hands with frustration.
61' So close again for Barcelona! Neymar is found in behind the Bayern defence, but his heavy first touch is cleared away by the onrushing Neuer. A perfect display of a sweeper-keeper there.
57' Messi plays a delightful one-two with Neymar, but yet again Neuer makes easy work of his long-distance effort.
55' Lewandowski drives down the wing and delivers and bending cross which is headed oout for a corner. Barca break from the corner and Juan Bernat is forced to bring down the much faster Messi, resulting in a booking for the Spanish full-back.
52' Benatia steps across the advancing Iniesta, who goes down easily afterwards, leading to a booking for the Bayern defender. The resulting free-kick is headed away by the Bayern defence. A tedious second-half so far compared to the spectacle we witnessed in the first half.
50' Bayern win the ball back quickly and in firm control of possession now. Suarez fouls Alonso on the edge of the halfway line in clear frustration.
48' The resulting corner is collected safely by ter Stegen. Barcelona back in possession now.
47' Alonso's low drive is blocked by the Barcelona wall and gone out for a corner.
46' Lewandowski is dragged down by Alves on the edge of the area. Dangerous position for the Bayern free-kick here.
Suarez and Messi get us back underway!
20:40: After their precarious start with Guardiola's outrageous tactics, Bayern should count themselves lucky not to be behind at half-time. Guardiola decided to alter his tactics after the opening 20 minutes of madness, which benefited his side at the back, adding more strength to the defence with that extra man. Nonetheless, Barcelona's quality didn't falter, as they continued to make chances and even went on to dominate for the last 25 minutes of the first half. An intriguing second half awaits us in just five minutes time!
20:35: Even though the score has remained at 0-0 throughout the first half, it really has been scintillating half of football. Especially, from the hosts. Barcelona have come in to their own towards the end of the first half, creating plenty of opportunities with exceptional football. Unfortunately, the finishing has been nothing short of ordinary.
Half-time: FC Barcelona 0-0 FC Bayern Munich
42' Barcelona are definitely having the better of possession as the game has progressed. Neuer is keeping Bayern in the game, no pun intended, with his fantastic presence and quick reactions.
39' Another glorious chance! Dani Alves finds himself through on goal on his 32nd birthday from a magnificent Iniesta pass, but his effort is straight at the confident Neuer.
35' Messi again passing players with ease until Philipp Lahm brings him down 30 yards out from goal. Xabi Alonso is the first man to be booked tonight, as the referee showed him the yellow card straight after giving the free-kick. The subsequent free-kick taking by Messi is gathered by Neuer with no difficulty.
30' Thiago cuts in with a great piece of skill, and to Schweinsteiger's annoyance, tries to curl it into the far post. Fairly even game so far, Bayern edging possession with 51%.
26' Brilliant Barcelona. Sergio Busquets plays a marvellous through ball into the advancing Jordi Alba, whose terrific cross has to be cleared by the Bayern defence.
21' Unbelievable skill from Lionel Messi. The Argentinian skips past Bastian Schweinsteiger and Xabi Alonso with ease, then cuts back on his left to send a teasing cross in, but nobody can get on the end of it.
18' An absolute peach of a chance for Robert Lewandowski! Thomas Müller drives down the wing and finds the striker with a low cross. With no Barca defenders around him, his sliding effort is miles wide of the goal.
15' Barcelona go close again! Suarez is giving Boateng a nightmare here. He skips past the German defender with ease, despite his best efforts to block Barcelona's number nine's path. He then finds Neymar in the box, who can only get a faint touch on it which is deflected off Bayern's Rafinha out for a corner. Heart-stopping action for Bayern fans.
12' What a chance! That gaping space in Bayern's half is being exhibited here. Suarez is found by a Messi flick-on via a long goal-kick and the Uruguayan only has Neuer to beat, after Boateng is caught trying to play offside. However, the German keeper denies Suarez's low drive well with his left leg.
11' An incredibly exciting start to the game, mainly due to Guardiola's man-marking tactics. His three-man defence is looking extremely open against the trio of Messi, Neymar and Suarez. Iniesta and Rakitic will love this if they keep this up, plenty of space to play killer through balls in behind.
7' Lionel Messi gets on the end of a defence-splitting ball, laying it off to Suarez, whose shot is saved comfortably by Neuer.
4' Huge roars of anger from the crowd after Suarez goes down from a slight touch by Jerome Boateng, as he headed towards the goal. But, Manuel Neuer easily claims the loose ball and the referee Nicola Rizzoli gives nothing.
3' Surpisingly, Guardiola has set up his team to press Barcelona high up the pitch. The Camp Nou pitch is massive, and Barcelona will look to use that to their advantage, tiring Bayern with their slick passing.
1' Neymar and Luis Suarez are already causing the Bayern defence problems, running in behind latching onto a Rakitic through ball. However, the linesman's flag is up against Neymar.
And Bayern get us underway!
19:43. What an incredible sight.
19:40. The two teams are in the tunnel exchanging words as they wait to come out onto the pitch in front of the Barcelona faithful.
19:30. BREAKING NEWS: The Spanish soccer federation (RFEF) has indefinitely suspended all domestic football from May 16 due to a disagreement with the government over multiple issues. This may be the last game that these Barcelona fans will witness for a while.
19:25. Will it be Barcelona or Bayern who take one step closer to reaching the Champions League final? Be sure to keep following our live coverage of the game, which kicks-off in just 20 minutes! The players will be going back into their respective dressing rooms in a few minutes, to receive an important final team talk just before this highly-anticipated tie begins!
19:05. Just 40 minutes till kick-off! The teams will going out to warm-up soon!
18:50. One change for Barcelona from the weekend, Ter Stegen coming in for Claudio Bravo. Bayern make seven changes after resting their first-choice XI over the weekend due to already capturing the Bundesliga title.
Barcelona starting XI - Ter Stegen; Alves, Pique, Mascherano, Alba; Rakitic, Busquets, Iniesta; Suárez, Messi, Neymar.
Barcelona substitutes - Bravo, Xavi, Pedro, Rafinha, Bartra, Adriano, Veramelen.
Bayern starting XI - Neuer; Rafinha, Boateng, Benatia, Bernat; Lahm, Alonso, Schweinsteiger, Thiago, Müller; Lewandowski.
Bayern substitutes - Reina, Dante, Martinez, Pizarro, Gaudino, Götze, Weiser.
18:45. The team news has just been announced!
18:22. To read more on the story, click the following link - https://www.vavel.com/en/international-football/spain-la-liga/485655-ronaldo-better-than-messi-says-alonso.html
18:20. Prior to the game, former Real Madrid midfielder Xabi Alonso has claimed Lionel Messi - one of his opponents tonight - is not as good as former teammate Ronaldo. “They are both amazing players and you can see that from the goals they score day in, day out,” Alonso said. “However, while I was at Madrid, for me, Cristiano was the best. Messi is a great player and it’s not easy to stop him, but we’ll try."
18:10. Lionel Messi is the third-top scorer in the Champions League this season with eight goals. He's third only to Luiz Adriano and Cristiano Ronaldo, who share top spot with nine goals each.
17:55. The last time Barcelona scored against Bayern in the Champions League was over six years ago on 14th April 2009. Since Seydou Keita's goal, they've not scored in 197 minutes of football against the five-time Champions League winners.
17:40. With both sides playing a possession-based game, they both hold the top two highest average possession numbers in the Champions League this season. Bayern - 66.1% and Barcelona - 63.9%.
17:20. Barcelona have only defeated Bayern once on the four occasions they've hosted the German champions at the Camp Nou. Bayern won the other three meetings, the last being the famous 3-0 victory in 2013 when Guardiola was last Barcelona manager.
17:05. Just over an hour until the team news is announced! So till then, we'll be bringing you some interesting opta stats relating to tonight's fixture!
16:15. The official team news will be with us in just over two hours, so be sure to stay tuned!
16:10. “Playing in the Champions League is a great feeling, a special one. When you hear the anthem, I know that it is a great moment and I get goosebumps,” the goalkeeper told uefa.com. However, he was unwilling to talk about the prospect of playing in the final held in Berlin, “We don’t like to talk about the future. It’s too early to talk about that, but if we take things step by step and maintain focus in the league as well, we have a great chance. It’s our goal and we hope to achieve it.”
16:07. The Spanish midfielder continued, "Furthermore, the season is going really well and we are just a small step from fulfilling our objectives. All these things are factors that add to the game, but the key is to enjoy what we do.” Iniesta is inevitably not the only one in the Barca dressing room looking forward to tonight's huge game. Goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen, who has only featured in cup competitions for Barcelona in his debut season at the club, is anticipating tonight with extreme excitement.
16:05. Legendary Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta is looking to win his fourth Champions League medal at the soon to be age of 31, a potentially impressive achievement. He spoke to UEFA media a day prior tonight's significant fixture, “They are game that are surrounded by tension, for what is at stake and because you are just a step away from a possible final." he said (although poorly translated from Spanish).
16:02. Tonight's venue - Camp Nou - the home of FC Barcelona. With a capacity of 99,354, it is the largest football stadium in Europe and when it's full - as it will be tonight - the residents of the Catalonia capital will create a thunderous atmopshere. The last Champions League Semi-Final held here saw Jupp Heynckes' Bayern defeat Guardiola's Barcelona 3-0 (7-0 on aggregate). Bayern went on to defeat Dortmund 2-1 in the final, which was held at another iconic stadium - Wembley.
16:00. Nevertheless, they made hard work of FC Shakhtar Donetsk and FC Porto - two inferior sides - in the first leg of each tie with both clubs. Drawing 0-0 away at Shakhtar and losing 3-1 thanks to a Ricardo Quaresma brace at Porto, Bayern definitely didn't increase their chances of progressing. But, 7-0 (vs Shakhtar) and 6-1 (vs Porto) victories at home in the return legs proved that they are more than capable of knocking off inferior sides due to the abundance of quality in their squad.
15:57. Bayern, despite coming out strong in the end, have proved to make it harder for themselves as they progress through the latter stages of the Champions League. They cruised through their group in first place with fifteen points, only dropping points in a 3-2 loss against Man City, who went through in second only to be knocked out by Bayern's opponents tonight in the last-16, as previously stated.
15:54. Tonight's hosts looked apprehensive in their opening two UCL games, scraping a 1-0 victory at home against Cypriot side APOEL FC and then losing 3-2 away in Paris against Laurent Blanc's Paris Saint-Germain. Nonetheless, since that loss in late September 2014, Barcelona have won every single UCL game - a run that stretches eight games. They managed to defeat English side Manchester City (3-1 on aggregate) and group rivals PSG (5-1 on aggregate) in the knockout stages with consecutive victories over both legs in each tie.
15:51. Both sides have had contrasting Champions League campaigns so far, however the one similarity between the two is that they've both reached the Champions League Semi-Final. So let's take a look back at how each side made it to tonight's Champions League Semi-Final first leg.
15:50. What was Guardiola's response when asked about his return in his press conference? Simple, his aim is to win as any manager would want their side to do, "It's wonderful to come back here. Lots of memories... It's very special for me." he said. "...However, I am the manager of FC Bayern. I have to do the best I can. It won't be easy."
15:48. He also commented on the possibility of a treble-winning season for his side, claiming that it can all so quickly turn to failure if they're not cautious, "I love the word treble. I don't run away from it. But professionals know that it could soon turn from three to zero." he stated. "We're in condition to win the treble but until you catch the bear you can't sell it's skin. The first step is to get to the final."
15:46. The 44-year-old continued, "He is the number one for what he has achieved and he's a friend, but this is such an important game for all Barca fans that it should be more important than any specific people. It's nice for the players to meet Guardiola again, but they know that this game is more important than just that. Guardiola knows most of our players but I don't think that will be decisive. There are many other factors."
15:43. In his pre-match press conference, Barcelona boss Enrique acknowledged the return of such a successful figure of the club, "We aren't going into this as a game against Pep," he said.
15:41. The only injury concern for their opponents tonight is French defender Jeremy Mathieu, who will definitely miss out with an achilles tendon injury. Promising young striker Munir is available for selection again after he returned to full training this week.
15:38. The other injured players for Bayern who'll miss out tonight are David Alaba and Holger Badstuber. This will most likely result in Guardiola starting veteran midfielder Xabi Alonso at centre-back once more tonight, as he has recently done.
15:35. On the other hand, Bayern themselves don't have that bad of an attacking trio themselves, boasting the likes of Franck Ribery, Arjen Robben and Robert Lewandowski. Unfortunately for Die Roten, only the latter is available for tonight's game, and even so the Polish striker will have to wear a mask after fracturing his cheekbone in the DFB Pokal Semi-Final defeat last Tuesday against Dortmund. Both Robben and Ribery were two of the few left behind when the squad flew to Barcelona yesterday.
15:34. He's also had the help of two world-class players - Luis Suarez and Neymar - at his side in what is the most dangerous strikeforce in all of Europe. The trio (pictured below), they've scored an astounding 108 goals in all competitions this season. That's more than most players score in their entire career...
15:31. The Argentinian sensation has been as lethal as ever, scoring 51 goals in 50 games in all competitions so far this season. Guardiola has recently revealed that he believes that there is no way to stop the man who was the pivotal figure in his Barcelona side, "There is not a system or coach to stop talent of Messi's magnitude," he said. "The way he has been playing over the past four or five months, you cannot stop him. He is too good."
15:29. Many have thought that the former Barcelona man will have an edge over his opponents tonight, having spent so much time building and creating one of Europe's greatest forces. One man in particular stands out in the team that play such mesmerizing football - Lionel Messi.
15:26. Meanwhile, in the run up to the game, the Bayern manager has dominated stories in the press as expected. He spent 11 years at the Catalan club as a player and four years as manager of the first team, having previously spent a year as FC Barcelona B manager prior to his management of the senior team. During his time playing and managing the first team, he's won a total of 30 trophies in a combined 15 years. An incredible record to behold.
15:22. The visitors tonight come into tonight's game following a 2-0 loss away at Bayer 04 Leverkusen. Even though, they have the Bundesliga title firmly in their grip, Guardiola will not be pleased that his side are going into such a huge game on a negative note. A bit of positive momentum when you're about to face one fo the best teams in the world, can never be a negative.
15:19. The leaders of Spain's top division are heading into this game on an incredible 16-game unbeaten run in all competitions. They last suffered defeat at home to Malaga CF back in February, as they were unable to cancel out an early Juanmi opener. In the game prior to tonight, they dominated away against Córdoba CF in an 8-0 victory.
15:17. Whereas, their opponents and tonight's hosts - Barcelona - are having a magnificent season under former player and new manager Luis Enrique. Despite not having a great record with his former two employers Real Club Celta de Vigo and A.S. Roma, he has had a debut season to remember. First in La Liga, a Copa del Rey Final and a Champions League Semi-Final is rather impressive for his debut season as Barcelona manager, even with the squad he has at his disposal.
15:14. It's been a mixed season so far in terms of success for Bayern Munich. Pep Guardiola's side has comfortably won the Bundesliga title recently, with their nearest competition - if you can call it competition - being second-placed VfL Wolfsburg fourteen points behind Bayern on 62 points. However, tonight's visitors have fallen short in other domestic competitions, losing to Borussia Dortmund in both the German Super Cup and the DFB Pokal semi-final. Many Bayern fans will feel that only success in the Champions League can redeem Guardiola considering the strength of his squad.
15:11. Last night we saw Juventus F.C. defeat Real Madrid C.F. in an entertaining first leg. It'll be interesting to see if the Serie A champions can withstand Carlo Ancelotti's side in the return leg at the Santiago Bernabéu to progress to the Champions League Final. Tonight's game can only be just as entertaining with the quality in both Barcelona's and Bayern Munich's squad.
15:00. Good evening and welcome to VAVEL UK's minute-by-minute live coverage of the second UEFA Champions League Semi-Final first leg this week, between FC Barcelona and FC Bayern Munich at the Nou Camp. I'll be updating you throughout what promises to be an enthralling game between two of Europe's greatest sides. Until kick-off at 7:45pm, I'll bring you statistics, analysis and pre-match comments - so be sure to stay tuned!