What crisis? ‘Irresistible, incredible’ Bayern Munich met perfectionist Pep Guardiola’s expectations

The unstoppable force met a very movable object on Tuesday night as Bayern Munich swatted away Porto 5-0 at Allianz Arena to win their Uefa Champions League second leg quarter-final 6-3 on aggregate.

Thomas Mueller, left, Thiago Alcantara and their Bayern Munich teammates were not to be denied at home against Porto in the second leg of their Uefa Champions League quarter-final on April 21, 2015. DShow more

It is in Pep Guardiola’s nature to reach for the stars. He is an idealist, an elitist, a perfectionist. And if perfection is by its nature forever unattainable, there are times when the Spaniard’s sides come perilously close.

Bayern Munich were irresistible, incredible even. They made quarter-finalists look like miserable minnows.

Porto were destroyed, demolished, demoralised. So much for the suggestions this was the closest thing to a crisis Guardiola had experienced during his time in Bavaria.

Instead, Bayern are now Uefa Champions League semi-finalists for a fourth consecutive year.

They could retain their Bundesliga title on Sunday, too, but even that will be obscured by this.

This was more a statement than a victory. It was a win that doubled up as a warning to Barcelona, the Madrid clubs, Juventus and Monaco, to send shockwaves around Europe.

It was a demonstration of power, of ambition, of character. Bayern had lost 3-1 in Portugal.

They had lost a member of the backroom staff and injured luminaries alike. Minus the club doctor, the departed Hans-Wilhelm Muller-Wohlfahrt, Bayern found a cure for their ills.

Without the injured Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery, Bayern demonstrated the depth and breadth of the talent in their ranks.

Philipp Lahm orchestrated proceedings with masterly assurance. Thomas Muller, a seemingly unspectacular player with a wonderful appreciation of space and angles, was a scorer and a catalyst.

Robert Lewandowski struck twice. Bayern scored three headers; Guardiola’s Barcelona were a tiki-taka team but his Bavarians are a more rounded group.

They exuded a Germanic ruthlessness. Porto had struck twice within the tie’s opening 10 minutes. Bayern’s was a still more emphatic start.

They wiped out their first-leg deficit and established a three-goal aggregate advantage with the space of 26, astonishing minutes when they struck five times.

They played with pace and purpose, proving a point swiftly, stylishly, superbly.

The early alarm, when Lewandowski hit the post, served as the prelude to an annihilation.

Pressure soon told with a goal that was made in Spain. Juan Bernat crossed for his compatriot Thiago Alcantara to head in at the near post. The former Barcelona midfielder was Bayern’s first-leg scorer, their defenders the problem in Portugal.

They made amends in the Allianz Arena. After a short corner, Xabi Alonso crossed. One centre-back, Holger Badstuber, won a header at the far post.

The other, Jerome Boateng, leapt highest to apply the finishing touch.

Porto were not merely outclassed. They were out-jumped. The third goal was another header.

It was a wonderful goal, first-touch football at its finest. Lahm stretched to deliver a wonderful volleyed cross, Muller cushioned his touch for his strike partner and Lewandowski flung himself forward to head in.

The fourth was a rarity: a goal from a shot. Muller’s drive took a deflection off the instep of Bruno Martins Indi. Fabiano probably should still have stopped it, but the ball went through his legs. If that summed it up for Porto, embarrassment and ignominy going hand in hand, Bayern’s fifth illustrated their perfect precision. The ever influential Muller supplied the cutback, the predator Lewandowski the angled finish.

Everything thereafter was a footnote. Badstuber should have been dismissed for a two-footed lunge on Ricardo Quaresma. Jackson Martinez scored a least consoling of consolation goals, but Porto finished with 10 men after Ivan Marcano was dismissed. Xabi Alonso converted the subsequent free kick and Porto manager Julen Lopetegui was sent to the stands, a punishment that ended his torture on the touchline. That is what Bayern can do at their best.

Guardiola’s quest for the exceptional is a gift and a curse.

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