Luis Enrique keen to avoid ‘crazy game’ in Munich

Barcelona want to avoid their Champions League semi-final second leg at Bayern Munich turning into a frantic encounter that could jeopardise their three-goal advantage, Luis Enrique said.

The Spanish side scored three late goals to beat Bayern last week but Enrique said he is fully aware their opponents are far from beaten.

“We don’t want to have a crazy game and if it is a crazy game we will have to calm it down,” Enrique told reporters on Monday.

“We will try to do it with counter attacks. We want to have the ball, we want possession. It will be difficult because Bayern will do the same thing. But we will try to find the spaces and score goals.”

Bayern twice showed they are capable of crushing anyone at home in the Champions League this season, first annihilating Shakhtar Donetsk 7-0 after a goalless draw in Ukraine in the last 16 and then demolishing Porto 6-1 after losing their quarter-final first leg 3-1.

Against Porto they scored five times in the opening 40 minutes to kill off the tie and that is what Enrique is desperate to avoid.

“You should not be too confident going into a game like that. You have to respect the opponent, calm your players down, control their emotions.”

With Bayern on the backfoot they will be looking for an early goal that could set them up for a memorable comeback against arguably the form team in Europe.

Bayern coach Pep Guardiola will be looking for his chances despite the heavy first leg defeat, Enrique said.

“He will try to have possession, to create chances and be strong in defence. I expect an attacking Bayern and I will do the same thing.”

While Bayern have struggled in recent weeks, Barcelona are on a high after all but securing the La Liga title. They have also scored 25 goals in their last seven outings.

"We will attack, we don't know any other way to play, we don't know how to play a defensive game," said defensive midfielder Javier Mascherano.

“That is the philosophy of our club. Obviously we have an advantage but we will try to find at least one goal.”