Munich, Germany--Pep Guardiola admitted feeling the love for his Bayern Munich players after their 'miraculous' 6-1 romp against ten-man Porto on Tuesday put them in the Champions League semi-finals.
Having needed to overturn a two-goal deficit after last Wednesday's shock 3-1 first-leg defeat at Porto, Bayern produced a devastating first-half display to claim five goals to win the quarter-final tie 7-4 on aggregate.
Chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge told reporters: "We have seen something miraculous" after Bayern became the first side to score five goals in the opening 45 minutes of a Champions League's knock-out game.
"At this moment, it's easy to love my players," beamed Guardiola.
"We played very differently to the first leg.
"We couldn't have achieved what we have without a fight.
"Many thanks to my players: they have made me very happy."
The excitement at the Allianz Arena clearly got to Guardiola who ended up splitting his trousers while screaming sideline instructions.
"Ah, they broke. It's not so bad, I'll just put on a new pair for the next game," grinned the Spaniard.
Robert Lewandowski scored twice, and now has 22 goals in all competitions, while Thomas Mueller, Jerome Boateng and Thiago Alcantara also grabbed first-half goals.
AFP
