Messi fires Bayern warning

Lionel Messi believes Bayern Munich will be more determined than ever to reach the Champions League final after their defeat last year.

Bayern endured the agony of a penalty shoot-out defeat to Chelsea in the 2012 final, which was played in their Allianz Arena home. Seemingly fuelled by the pain of that loss, Jupp Heynckes men have already wrapped up the Bundesliga title, reached the final of the DFB-Pokal cup competition and comfortably reached the last four of the Champions League once more. Barca meanwhile are playing in their sixth consecutive semi-final and take on Bayern knowing victory will give them a great chance of lifting the trophy for the third time in five seasons. Messi, who hopes to be fit to play after recovering from a hamstring injury, says Bayern are a stronger side than last year and believes their determination to make up for the Chelsea defeat makes them a threat. "Any opponent in these semi-finals would be hard, but Bayern this year have been very, very good," he told the Times of India. "They have been playing at a high level and scoring a lot of goals. "They will also have a lot of extra motivation after what happened at the end of the 2012 competition when they lost to Chelsea in their own field. "I think that their desire to win the title is even greater this time. And Bayern are stronger this year than last, in my opinion." Messi is integral to the chances of Barcelona reaching the final after hitting 53 goals in just 43 appearances this season. Should the Argentine feature at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday evening, then punters may want to use their free bet to back the Catalan side to progress. With great rivals Real Madrid facing Borussia Dortmund in the other semi-final, Messi admits the prospect of an 'El Clasico' final is a tantalising one, even if it is not spoken about openly among the players. "I do not speak of the final, Bayern only, and if we reach the final then we do not care who we play when we are there," he added. "But, a final at Wembley against Madrid would be a special game for many things and for many people. "If we face Madrid in the final then it will be a great show, that's for sure."




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