Bayern Munich will be extremely cautious heading into their Champions League semi-final tie with Atletico Madrid after seeing them knock out the best team in the competition, in the words of Bayern coach Pep Guardiola.
Bayern will travel to Madrid to face Atletico in the first leg of their fifth-straight Champions League semi-final before hosting the Spaniards at the Allianz Arena.
Standing between them and a place in the final are a club who eliminated Barcelona in the quarter-finals, and Guardiola says that means they warrant plenty of respect.
"I still think Barcelona are the best team in Europe, even if they've been knocked out," Guardiola said at a press conference on Friday.
"In my eyes, Barcelona are still the best team. They have (Lionel) Messi, the best player in the world, but over two legs it can happen that you get knocked out.
"Anything can happen. For a decade, Atletico could never beat Real, and then Diego Simeone arrived and everything has changed.
"I'm really curious about these games. They have the best atmosphere in Europe there and already the atmosphere in Lisbon surprised my players, and that was a big experience for them.
"Their fans will get behind the team for 90 minutes and even Simeone is like a fan."
Bayern's director of sport Matthias Sammer has also warned against the team spirit and camaraderie which has helped Atletico break the Real-Barcelona duopoly in Spanish football, and come within seconds of winning the Champions League two years ago.
"It's going to be extremely difficult," he said. "Atletico are passion monsters; honest and authentic, from what I can gather.
"But not only passion will decide this semi-final. That is going to come into it, but many other things like the stadium, the pitch and quality are also important."
Source: PA-WIRE
